
I 

I 



THE 



CHRISTIAN 



UNIVERSALIS'! 



BY EDWARD MITCHELL. 



NEW. YORK: 

CLAYTON k VAN NORDEN, PRINTERS, 
49 WILLIAM-STREET, 



1833, 



Entered, according to the Act of Congress, in the year one thousand 
eight hundred and thirty-three, by Edward Mitchell, in the Clerk's 
Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern 
District of New- York. 



TO THE MEMORY OF 

MY DECEASED, BUT DESERVEDLY BELOVED CHILDREN, 
AND 
TO THE USE OF 
THOSE WHO YET LIVE, 
THIS LITTLE BOOK IS DEDICATED, 
BY THEIR FATHER, 

E. M. 



August 3d, 1833. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Pastoral Letter 5 

Origin and Progress of the Society. 25 

Catechism » 47 

Marriage Ceremony 67 



SHORT SERMONS. 

The Lord our Shepherd . 77 

Peace by Christ 87 

The Gospel to every Creature. . . . . . 97 

Same subject continued. ... 107 

Same subject continued 117 

Same subject continued 127 

Same subject concluded.. 137 

The Record of God 149 

The Law and the Testimony 159 

Same subject concluded. 169 

The Lord's Supper ....... 179 



Matthew xxv. 46. ........ 191 



TO THE SOCIETY 

OF 

UNITED CHRISTIAN FRIENDS, 

IN THE 

CITY OF NEW-YORK. 



Friends : 

The circumstances of the moment strongly impress 
on me the necessity of no longer delaying what has 
long been considered by me as an imperious duty ; that 
is, that there should be presented to you an outline of 
the doctrine taught in our church. The constitution of 
our Society requires of the Presiding Elder, that he shall 
watch over the spiritual interests of the Society, and re- 
port to it on all matters, wherein it is interested. This 
duty, he has thought, would be most efficiently discharg- 
ed, by a faithful exhibition from the pulpit, of what he 
has very long considered the pure truth of Christianity* 
Experience has, however, taught him, that in many in- 
stances his sentiments have been so misrepresented, 
that it has become a duty he owes to truth— to the cause 
in which he has been engaged for the greater part of 
his life, that you should now have from the press some, 
thing of the nature of a creed, confession, or catechism 
of the doctrine he has spent so many years in labouring 
to establish. We know the prejudice existing with 

1 



0 



PASTORAL LETTER. 



some, against all creeds and confessions ; but why 
should it be so ? What is a creed, but the principle which 
a man believes ; and what is a confession of faith, but the 
acknowledgment of that principle? Every man who 
believes any thing, that thing is his creed ; and every 
man who makes an acknowledgment of what he be- 
lieves, that is his confession. If then these things be so, 
where is there a being possessing intellectual power, 
and having intercourse with his fellows, who has not a 
creed, who has not made a confession ? 

The creeds and confessions among Christians, are the 
views which the makers of them have of religious doc- 
trine, of faith, and morals. An advantage in these va- 
rious views being exhibited, is, that every one can the 
more readily perceive where he can most conscien- 
tiously worship. 

It has been said, that the Bible is the creed of the 
protestant. This is true ; yet protestants themselves 
have greatly differed, respecting the doctrines revealed 
in that sacred book : hence has arisen the necessity, 
which each party has found itself under, of giving to 
the world its creed, or confession of faith : this differ- 
ence of judgment does indeed exhibit a lamentable view 
of the weakness, or depravity of human intellect — that 
man cannot understand, though God himself is the 
teacher ; or that his mind is so sensual that he will not 
listen to the Saviour of the world, who says, " learn of 
me." (Mat. xi. 29.) 

In this state of things, what is our duty ? The answer 
is given ; if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, 
that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and 
it shall be given him. (James i. 5.) Surely the ear ot 



PASTORAL LETTER. 



7 



the Lord is open to the cry of him, who in sincerity of 
soul cries to God, saying : O, God, teach me to see thee 
as thou art ; and to see myself as I am seen of thee. The 
answer of prayer may not be immediately given ; but, 
we think, that where this desire of the mind becomes 
habitual, (and desire is prayer,) the Supreme Being, to 
whom it is addressed, will, in his own good time, (and 
that is always the wisest and the best,) give such measure 
of knowledge of himself, and of man his creature, as will 
convince the worshipper, that man is a sinner, and that 
God is his Saviour. But this measure of the knowledge of 
God, and of himself, does not prevent the continuance of 
his prayers ; for the possession of knowledge is like 
wealth ; he who knows he has but little, desires to have 
more ; and the more he gets the more he knows its value, 
and desires its increase. The believer's knowledge is 
a spiritual treasure, even the enjoyment of life eternal ; 
and he is exhorted to grow in grace, and in the know- 
ledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 
iii. 18.) He whose heart is touched with the love of 
God, we think, ought not to be ashamed of acknowledg- 
ing him as the friend of sinners ; for, with the heart 
man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth 
confession is made unto salvation. (Rom. x. 10.) Here 
is faith (the thing believed) in the heart, and a confes- 
sion made in consequence of it ! The Psalmist says, I 
believed, therefore have I spoken ; (Ps. cxvi. 10.) and 
Paul says, we, having the same spirit of faith, according 
as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken ; 
we also believe, and therefore speak. (2 Cor. iv. 13.) Is 
it possible, after these scripture evidences, for a man 
who is a Christian, and professes to make the Scriptures 



8 



PASTORAL LETTER. 



his rule of faith and practice, to have any reasonable 
objection to creeds and confessions ? 

We fear that enmity against these, arises from the 
want of faith in the things believed and confessed. If 
indeed a man does not believe, he is at liberty to express 
his dissent ; but to be at enmity with the principle, is so 
far from rational free thinking, that it goes far to deny 
the right of thinking, or, if we do think, to forbid us the 
right of expressing our thoughts. We believe, and 
therefore we speak ; and when we thus speak, it is a 
matter of little importance whether it be orally or by 
writing, whether it is in the form of creed, catechism, 
or confession. We have chosen the form of a cate- 
chism, but it is a catechism founded on a creed gene- 
rally received in the Christian community. The form of 
question and answer is most familiar to young persons ; 
but let us not forget that the lessons taught us in early 
life, are intended for our use in every after period. 

The necessity for, and advantages of a catechism, 
were long since advocated from your pulpit ; it was 
approved of and greatly wished for by some ; and it is 
now nearly three years, since a dying daughter urged 
upon her father, the preparation of one ; and gave as a 
reason, that if it answered no other purpose, it would be 
useful to his children. This was to him like a voice from 
the dead; and his feelings on the subject, have ever 
since been, that should he find the hour of his departure 
was suddenly come, even the visions of glory would not 
prevent a degree of regret, that this little work had not 
been accomplished. Blessed be God, it is done ,• and, 
however imperfectly, it may be of use to his children, 
and perhaps to the children of others. 



PATORAL LETTER. 



9 



The rise and progress of the Society of United Chris- 
tian Friends, is but a sketch. The first book of the 
church, containing (or it ought to have contained) much 
matter of interest, is lost ; and some of the most inte- 
resting transactions took place at a time when the wri- 
ter of this did not reside in the city. \Yhat yet re- 
mains will be considered as worth preserving, by those 
who take an interest in the welfare of the Society. 

The Marriage Ceremony has been generally thought 
very solemn ; copies of it have been asked for, and a 
wish has been expressed, that it should be printed ; it is, 
therefore, furnished. Here it may not be improper to re- 
mark, that those present may be benefited — those who 
have been long husband and wife, by being reminded 
of duties which they may, in some degree, have forgot- 
en — and the unmarried, by having presented to them * 
what will be their duties, should theyenter into the mar- 
riage contract. It is to be feared, that many consider 
the matter as a mere ceremony, and that while that cere- 
mony is performing, they do not pay a sufficient atten^ 
tion to the obligations to which thev^ bind themselves, 
* in the presence of God, and his cho^fn witne^fe," 
Let the unmarried think well of these things' before xRey ! 
call on a minister to officiate ; and if they cannot ae- 
cede to the principles contained in this form, and will 
marry, it is better that they apply to a civil magistrate, 
who* is only bound to know marriage as a civil contract* 
Again, we would exhort those who profess religion 5 
to marry only in the Lord ; that is, to those of like faith* 
Our greatest enjoyment in life arises from our prospect 
of bliss to come in a future life ; and if on this subject 
husband and wife cannot agree, their difference must 
1* # 



10 



PASTORAL LETTER. 



be inexpressibly painful. Can a woman, having any 
respect for religion, marry a man holding the marriage 
contract in contempt ! 

The Short Sermons were written at the desire of a 
company of persons in the congregation, who wished 
to improve themselves in church music, and thought it 
desirable that their exercises should be preceded by a 
very short sermon, and that they should afterwards be 
printed ; for at that time, what is called Universalism, 
was much talked of, and principles attributed to us, 
which we did not only not believe, but held in abhor- 
rence ; and it was hoped, that in those who would read, 
the error might be corrected. To these is added a Ser- 
mon on Matthew xxv„ 46. This is given, not to excite 
controversy, (we abhor it,) but for the purpose of show- 
ing, that one of those parts of Scripture, generally sup- 
posed to be an insuperable objection to the doctrine of 
the final happiness of all men, may not only be recon- 
ciled to it, but support it ; and if one, why not another, 
why not every other ? The Book of God does not— 
cannot contradic£ itself. 

To those wj^o feel themselves disposed to controver- 
sy, we would most earnestly recommend a very careful 
and candid reading of a letter on that subject, by the 
celebrated John Newton, of Olney ; it may be found in 
the first volume of his works, New-York edition, p. 241. 

We would hope that its effect would, at least, be to 
soften that bitterness of spirit which too often dishonours 
both the subject and the writer. 

Our remarks on this little book are closed, and we 
would address somewhat to the congregation. 

And first, to those w T ho are yet children ; The wri- 



PASTORAL LETTER* 11 

ter of this remembers well when he was himself a child 
of not more than ten years old, and that he then felt an 
interest on the subject of religion ; but he had been 
taught little more on that subject than what Isaiah says of 
the moral government of God : Say ye to the righteous 
that it shall be well with him : for they shall eat the fruit 
of their doings. Wo unto the wicked ; it shall be ill 
with him : for the reward of his hands shall be given 
him. (Is. iii. 10, 11.) A catechism was indeed put into 
his hands, but he remembers little of it ; it was called 
the New-Light Catechism, and perhaps would now be 
called liberal ; but he never learned from it any thing 
of the way of salvation. He hoped if he was spared 
till twenty, he might, by trying in all things to obey 
God, procure his favour. About this time Watts' Di- 
vine Songs was given him to commit to memory ; but 
though there is much good in this book, there was even 
then, to him, something he could not accept, and can- 
not to this day : but he found much to approve of, and 
well worthy of remembrance ; and among these, an im- 
portant truth, elegantly expressed : " A flower, when 
offered in the bud, is no vain sacrifice." Is not this 
flower mature age, and the bud childhood 1 then even 
in childhood offer yourselves to God : speak to him in 
your own language, ask of him that he would accept of 
you, that he would watch over you, and take care of 
you ; that he would keep you from evil, and lead you 
in the way that he will himself approve of. Fear not 
that he will not listen to you, because you cannot speak 
well ; your father and mother on earth do not refuse to 
hear you, because you speak to them imperfectly ; they 
are even sometimes amused by your childish manner ; 



12 



PASTORAL LETTER. 



but they know your wishes, and as far as these are 
right, it does their hearts good to gratify you. How 
much more does your Father who is in heaven love you ? 
As much more as the Almighty God is greater than his 
poor, feeble, fallen creature, man. Fail not to ask in- 
struction from your parents ; the blessings which you 
now enjoy from God come to you through them; they love 
you, and will give you the best instruction in their power ; 
and remember, that if they should appear to you 
not able to answer all the questions you ask, it may 
also be, that your intellect is yet so small and feeble, 
that if the best answer were given, you might not be 
able to comprehend it ; that knowledge is progressive, 
and that the things which are now difficulties, may at a 
future day be plain and easy. 

To you, young men and women, who are as the flower 
just beginning to blow, and show its leaves in all their 
beauty, have you been offered to God in the bud ? If so, 
happy are ye ; yet would we, in the spirit of pure affec- 
tion, warn you, that the world, into which you are now on- 
ly looking, but are perhaps eager to enter, that you may 
discharge the duties which you will owe to it, and enjoy 
its rational pleasures ; — that world hath temptations and 
trials — it hath pains you have not yet felt, as well as 
pleasures which you may lawfully enjoy ; but of all the 
pleasures which can be found in life, there is none equal 
to that which flows from confidence in God, and an hum- 
ble assurance, that you have, however imperfectly, en- 
deavoured to discharge the duty which you owe to him. 

To you who have entered on the busy scene of life, 
and who, perhaps, have formed the tenderest tie that 
binds human beings together ; your little innocents — 



PASTORAL LETTES. 



13 



for such you esteem them, and such they comparatively 
are — O teach them, so that the first accents of the 
lisping tongue shall be to our Father who is in heaven. 
Think not that they are too young to be taught ; they 
may be taught as soon as they can think ; and when they 
think, they reason ; and they do this much sooner than 
some of us imagine. Then teach them the love of 
God, and especially as it is manifested in the gift of his 
Son for our salvation ; for no sooner does a child know 
the difference between good and evil, than it knows 
it hath done that which it ought not to have done, and 
hath neglected to do that which it ought to have done : 
it is, therefore, a convicted sinner, and it is your duty 
to lead the sinner to the Saviour. You have taught 
your child to call God by the endearing name of father? 
and probably you have made it feel the authority of the 
earthly parent ; have you also taught it the authority of 
our heavenly Father? that whom the Lord loveth he 
chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 
(Heb. xii. 6.) And would he do this if it were not me- 
rited ? and what is his motive in this ? Blessed be his 
name, it is, that we may be partakers of his holiness ; 
(Heb. xii. 10. ;) and, we take leave to add, therefore, 
of his happiness. Shall we here be met with the ap- 
palling question, how can they teach who have them- 
selves never been taught ? Is it possible that any liv- 
ing in a Christian country have never had an opportunity 
of knowing the evidences of Christianity ! The Bible 
has internal evidence of its divine origin. Where will 
you find so perfect a picture of the true character of 
man ? where so interesting a view of the character of 
God ? where shall we find so perfect a system of human 



14 



PASTORAL LETTER. 



prudence, as in the book of Proverbs? If there were 
no future state, the wisdom of this book alone would be 
of inestimable value, in showing us how to avoid the ills, 
and to obtain the enjoyment of the real pleasures of the 
life that now is. Then study the Bible well ; you will 
find it the candle of the Lord, by which you may read 
the fair book of nature, and find that the God of na- 
ture and the God of grace is one. If you wish for 
further evidence, take the little tract by Leslie, which 
he calls His " Short and Easy Method with the Deists," 
and you will find much plain common-sense evidence, 
that the facts stated in the Seriptures never could have 
been received, had not the people to whom they were 
presented known that they were true. Many other 
authors might here be named, who have advocated the 
truth of the Christian religion. But we forbear : if you 
wish for them, you can easily find them ; and though 
they may, in some points of divnity, not agree, yet 
you will find strong evidence in all, that the Scriptures 
are a revelation from God. 

But what is deism ? The true meaning of the word, 
is belief in the existence of one God ; and where is the 
deist, who, without direct or indirect assistance from the 
Bible, can prove that there is a God — can tell us what 
is his character, what we have a right to expect from him, 
and what he requires of us ? What can he tell us, of 
future, inexpressible, ceaseless blessedness ? Deism, in 
the common acceptation of the term, rather implies 
hatred of revelation, than faith in the existence of the 
Supreme Being ; it leads to, and generally ends in athe- 
ism. With these, we fear it is the hatred of what they 
call superstition, rather than the love of truth* 



PASTORAL LETTER. 



15 



Dear young Friends ; think of these things, and be- 
ware of the dangerous fallacy of supposing, that your 
children are to be uninstructed, until they are perfectly 
able to judge for themselves. You may then find it is too 
late, that their passions are at least as influential as their 
understanding, and that they will at least be as inge- 
nious to find an excuse for the indulgence of these pas- 
sions, as ingenuous to acknowledge the truth of a prin- 
ciple of intellectual wisdom. We think it was the 
opinion of Dr. Priestley, that if we do not teach our 
children right principles, other people will teach them 
wrong ones ; and in this, at least, we do believe he was 
perfectly correct. But suppose your children are 
brought up in perfect ignorance ; and such they must be 
if they are untaught, and have been fortunate enough 
to escape the influence of the passions, (a thing not at 
all probable,) you send them out to seek truth, is there 
not danger that among the conflicting sentiments^ven 
of the religious world, they might find it so difficult to 
separate truth from error, that they may be found among 
the number of those who are ever learning, and never 
able to come to the knowledge of the truth ; (2 Tim. iii. 7 ;) 
aad that the end should be, that the pursuit would be 
given up as a hopeless task, and they would fall back 
into the state of ignorance in which they had been 
brought up, or, worse than this, into the sceptical opinion, 
that truth is unattainable. You now, we trust, believe 
in the Christian religion ; is it not a duty to acknow* 
ledge it ? and what way more fit, than by uniting with 
that community which professes it in its greatest 
purity and simplicity ? You may find your attention 
attracted by the fashionable religion of the day ; (for, alas, 



16 



PASTORAL LETTER. 



there is fashion even on the all-important subject of re- 
ligion ;) you may be attracted by loud pretensions to su- 
perior sanctity ; or even fanaticism may not be without 
its claims ; but we entreat you by the favour of God, and 
the duty you owe to him, let no earthly consideration 
sway you : consider this as a matter (as in truth it is) 
between God and your own souls, and that to him, and 
to him only, are you accountable ; let the sense of your 
accountability never for a moment be out of sight ; and, 
being convinced in your own mind, let no false shame 
move you ; be not ashamed of Christ, lest he should be 
ashamed of you ; (Mark viii. 38 ;) and may God fit and pre- 
pare you for that glory for which you were created. 

My aged Friends. With us, the season of youthful 
pleasures is long since passed away ; and the labours 
and the cares of middle age do not, or ought not, to press 
so heavily upon us as once they did. The bud hath blown, 
the flower hath flourished and faded, many of its leaves 
have fallen, and a slight blast of disease will leave what 
is left of life prostrate in the dust. 

It is common to a proverb, that nothing in life is so 
uncertain as life itself. This is true at every age ; but 
with us it is most certain, that the disease of mortality 
which was with us at our birth, will, by the course of 
nature, soon number us with the dead. 

If, happily, our lives have been dedicated to God, then 
for us to die is gain ; if, unhappily, a doubt should yet 
remain ; what is the remedy, but earnest supplication 
and prayer, that God would enlighten the understanding, 
and lead us in the way everlasting. (Ps. cxxxix. 24.) Ask, 
and ye shall receive. (John xvi. 24.) It will indeed be 
a matter of regret, that so little is left to be devoted to 



PASTORAL LETTER. 



17 



the service of God ; but remember, that even a long life 
of continued obedience would not earn for us life eter- 
nal ; for salvation is by grace, and life eternal is the gift 
of God ; and when men do all that is commanded of 
them, they are yet unprofitable servants ; tfoey have done 
no more than their duty. (Lukexvii. 10.) Does the aged 
convert see in his own case the long suffering, patience, 
and mercy of God ! then I beseech you, therefore, bre- 
thren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your 
bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, 
which is your reasonable service. (Rom. xii. 1.) 

Brethren and Friends of the Society and Congrega- 
tion, — he, who now addresses you, would speak to you 
as a dying father would to his children. Live in peace ; 
but this can never be, unless there is a unity of faith ; 
without it there is no bond of union, nor can there ever 
be. Nor think it strange that we must be of one mind. 
Paul found it necessary to exhort to this effect. (Phil, 
iv. 2.) Then will you make your supplications to God with 
effect ; and the peace of God, which passeth all under- 
standing, shall keep your hearts and minds, through 
Christ Jesus. (Phil. iv. 7.) An association of men, 
knowing little or nothing of the way of salvation, 
may associate together for the purpose of enjoying their 
own speculations ; and if they are assailed from the pul- 
pit or the press, may think themselves persecuted ; and 
they may continue for a time, nay, they may unite more 
closely for the common defence ; but leave them to 
themselves, and they will soon sink into oblivion. That 
you may live in peace, consider well the character of 
Christ, who is our peace. (Eph. ii. 14.) He says of him- 
self, that he is the way, and the truth, and the life ; that 
2 



18 



PASTORAL LETTER. 



no man cometh to the Father but by him. s (John xiv. 6.) 
Is he not then the only way to God 1 Is he not the ful- 
fiiler of the truth of the promise made by God in Eden ? 
Is he not the life of the world ? This is the groundwork 
of our hope ; -for other foundation can no man lay than 
that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (1 Cor. iii. 11.) Now 
what prophet or apostle, what created being, can take 
upon himself to say, that he is the foundation of the 
Christian's hope ? for the hope of Israel is the Saviour. 
(Jer. xiv. 8.) God is our Saviour ; the Lord Jesus Christ 
is our hope. (1 Tim. i. 1.) God was in Christ reconciling 
the world unto himself; and therefore it is, that the ambas- 
sadors for Christ say, " as though God did beseech you 
by us : we pray you, in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled 
to God." (2 Cor. v. 19, 20.) 

Is it possible that this can be true ? We could not 
believe it, but that God hath said it ; that the Almighty 
God, who spoke the world into being, and whose com- 
mand could bring it to its original nothing, should thus 
condescend to beg and pray, to entreat and beseech his 
own creature, who had broken the law of his God 5 and of 
his own happiness ; that he, the offended God, should thus 
humbly plead with his poor, fallen, sinful worm of the 
earth, that he would be pleased to be no longer angry 
with God, the giver of all the good this poor miserable 
creature ever had, or ever will have, in time or eternity. 
This is wonderful indeed ; it is the humility and love 
of God. We talk of humility, and we require of the 
offender, that he should humble himself in the presence 
of him whom he hath offended, and sue for reconciliation. 
But the thoughts of God are not as our thoughts, neither 
his ways our ways. (Is. lv. 8.) Do you startle at the 



PASTORAL LETTER. 



19 



idea of humility in God ? It is no wonder that you do ; 
and yet it is most true, that there is no being in exist, 
ence so humble as our God. Would you have proof? 
Dehold, then, the love and the humility of God, in the 
fact, that Jesus left the bosom of the Father ; took upon 
him our nature ; humbled himself unto death, even the 
death of the cross. On this subject, see John i. 18. xvii. 
5. Hebrews ii. 14 — 17. Philippians ii. 5 — 8. Look 
also at the result : " At the name of Jesus every knee 
shall bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and 
things under the earth." (Phil. ii. 9, 10.) " And every 
creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and un- 
der the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that 
are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and 
glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the 
throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever." Look, 
my friends, at this divine vision. (Rev. v. 13.) " Be- 
nold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of 
the world!" (John i. 29.) 

That you may continue to live in peace, you must 
hold fast the profession of your faith without wavering ; 
(Heb. x. 23. ;) nor let us suppose, for a moment, that 
our rejection of an error will serve as a substitute for 
faith : he that hath had the Gospel preached to him, and 
believeth not, shall be damned, is just as true as that he 
that believeth shall be saved. (Mark xvi. 16.) There 
is no weapon of the enemy to which you are so much 
exposed, and by which you are so likely to fall, as the 
supposition, that because you clearly see wherein your 
neighbours are wrong, you yourselves must be right. 
Think not that we would say a word that would lead 
you to a spirit of doubt, or indifference ; far from it — 



20 



PASTORAL LETTEKo 



we rather repeat the injunction, "hold fast the pro- 
fession of your faith without wavering." Think of God, 
of the view he had in your creation, of the means he 
hath used for your salvation ; nor let the scepticism of 
am unbelieving world make you hesitate to believe. 
The means which the wisdom of God hath appointed, 
must, of necessity, be that which will accomplish the 
desired object. Think of the Holy Ghost, your sancti- 
fier, and resist him not* He is a comforter, for he testi- 
fies of Jesus. (John xv. 20.) O think, that, " Thou, 
God, seestme." (Gen. xvi. 13.) Thus walk with God, 
and indulge not in any thing, not even in a thought, 
that you would desire to hide from his all-seeing eye. 

Live in peace with those around you ; and if some 
do not see the extent of the grace of God, yet they 
may see clearly, that salvation is by Christ only ; and 
while they testify of Christ, respect them for his name's 
sake ; and if, indeed, they will permit you, show them 
the oath of God, that to him, the just God and Saviour, 
" every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear." 
(Is. xlv. 21— £5.)] You will also meet with those who 
extol the love of God, as extending to the least and 
meanest of all his creatures ; and while they acknow- 
ledge the atonement, they appear to us not to perceive 
its omnipotent sufficiency. With these we can agree, 
in the tenderness of the love, and the extent of the mer- 
cies of God ; and if they will only acknowledge, that 
God is as great as he is good, that the Almighty God is 
the Saviour, and that he shall see of the travail of 
his soul, and shall be satisfied, (Is. liii. 11.,) what 
great ground of difference would remain ? Would 
those two great parties only agree to lay aside the phi- 



PASTORAL LETTER. 



21 



losophy of men, the doctrines of fate and free will, and 
each acknowledge what is distinctly taught, or fairly 
inferrible from Scripture, would there not be a unity of 
faith, and a peace among professors of Christianity, 
which has not existed, time out of mind ? There is one 
thing in which, however, they do agree, and that is, in 
the Scripture doctrine of the Trinity ; this is a doctrine 
which we believe has been greatly misunderstood, and, 
therefore, misrepresented. 

The first acknowledgment of three persons in one 
God, may excite the scorn of those who have long been 
in the habit of thinking otherwise ; and yet there is some- 
thing analogous in the man himself, for he is spirit, and 
soul, and body, (1 Thes. v. 23.,) and yet but one man. 
How these are distinguished, each from the others, and 
yet the three but one, may be difficult for him to tell, 
but if he believes the Scriptures, he knows it to be true* 

To dwell on the subject of the Trinity, is not our in- 
tention ; he who desires this, may gratify himself with 
the numerous books written on it. Let it suffice at pre- 
sent to say, that while the personal pronoun is used in 
Scripture to designate God, we also may be permitted 
to use it ; and as to the personality of Jesus Christ, we 
think it cannot be denied by any who acknowledge that 
he ever existed. His divinity, or proper deity, we have 
ever maintained. And the personality of the Holy 
Ghost we must acknowledge, when the personal pro- 
noun is used in reference to him four times in one verse. 
The Holy Ghost is called the comforter : (John xiv. 
26. :) " When the comforter is come, he shall testify of 
me." (John xv. 26.) The comforter is spoken of as 
the spirit of truth : whom the world cannot receive, be- 

2* 



$2 



PASTORAL LETTER. 



'cause it seeth him not, neither knoweth him, tut ye 
know him ; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in 
you. (John xiv. 17.) What Christian Universalist can 
refuse to join in the doxology which says, 

To Father, Son, and Holy GJiost, 

Who sweetly all agree, 
To save a world of sinners lost? 

Eternal glory be ? 

Much more might be said on the subject of doctrine ; 
$)ut this letter is nw longer than was intended. 

Before we close, we would say something on the sub- 
ject of the way in which principles of religion are some- 
times asserted or defended from the press. When you 
iind the style or sentiments such as are unworthy the 
character either of the gentleman or the Christian, give 
them no kind of countenance ; they will poison the 
minds of your children ; you, yourselves, will suffer by 
them. iC Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes 
not be burnt ?" (Prov. vi. 27.) "Their word will eat 
as doth a canker." (2 Tim. ii. 17.) And remember, 
that " he that biddeth iiim God speed, is partaker of his 
evil deeds." (2 John 11.) 

Your spiritual welfare is dear to the friend who writes 
to you ; he is the only living person of those with whom 
the Society originated, and with the exception of two 
or three annual elections, (when he was necessarily 
absent from you,) he has been one of your public speak- 
ers ; and for the last twenty -two years he has been an- 
nually elected public speaker, and your presiding El- 
der. He hath endeavoured to discharge the duty in- 
cumbent upon him faithfully, avoiding the influence of 
the fear of man which bringeth a snare, and he hath en- 



PASTORAL LETTER. 



23 



deavoured to put his trust in the Lord, and is yet safe. 
(Prov. xxix. 25.) He has reason to be thankful, that 
his labours have not been entirely in vain. This has 
been repeatedly attested by you, and that not long since. 
May he not, then, with humility ask you to bear in mind 
what an apostle saith of himself : " Though you have 
ten thousand instructers in Christ, yet have ye not many 
fathers : for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you, through 
the Gospel." (1 Cor. iv. 15.) 

He who hath nearly closed his sixty-fourth year can- 
not expect to continue long with you. More than half of 
his whole life hath been spent with you, and for you ; 
the fragment that yet remains offers him little to hope 
or fear ; the day of his departure cannot but be near ; 
and when he is gone, you will probably find many ap- 
plicants to fill his place. May the man whom you will 
select be of like precious faith ; for, believe me, an un- 
believer will do you no good. But be he whom he 
may, you must support him ; this is the law of God, as 
taught by the apostle Paul, when he introduces the sub- 
ject, by saying, Who goeth a warfare any time at his 
own charges ? See his reasoning, in his first epistle 
to the Corinthians, chap. ix. 7 — 14., both inclusive. 
Nay, the Saviour of the world himself teaches this doc- 
trine ; for when he first sent out his apostles, he forbids 
them to draw upon their own resources, saying, provide 
neither gold, nor silver, nor brass, in your purses, nor 
scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, 
nor yet staves : for the workman is worthy of his meat. 
(Mat. x. 10, 11.) 

In the prospect of persecution, they were required 
to take purse and scrip, and he that had no sword, to 



24 



PASTORAL LETTER. 



sell his garment, and buy one. (Luke xxii. 35 — 38.) 
But where this reason does not exist, the former rule 
must hold good. 

Paul may have had reasons for his independent con. 
duct toward the Corinthians, that will not apply gene- 
rally in the present state of the church ; and there may 
be some peculiar cases even now, in which a man m&y 
think it his duty to sink with the church with whom he 
is connected ; but can it be his duty to sink by it ? 

It was intended to have introduced into this letter 
something of what might be called the writer's religious 
experience ; but there is not room. He may at some fu- 
ture period do this, if God is pleased to continue his 
life and health ; but all that belongs to the future of 
this life is uncertain. When the hand that now writes 
to you is mouldering in the dust, and the heart that now 
beats for your best interest feels no more, may the 
Lord, in his great goodness, raise up for you an evan- 
gelist, who will be faithful to God and you, with whom 
you will be pleased, and who will have reason to be 
pleased with you ; this is the ardent prayer of him who 
thinks he may, with some good degree of propriety } 
subscribe himself, 

Your long-tried Friend, 

and faithful Servant, 

EDWARD MITCHELL. 

New-York, July 1st, 1333. 



ORIGIN AND PROGRESS 

OF THE 

SOCIETY OF UNITED CHRISTIAN FRIENDS, 

IN 

THE CITY OF NEW-YORK, 

INSTITUTED MAY 1, 1796. 



The Soeiety of United Christian Friends originated 
in the following manner : 

Late in March, or on the afternoon of Friday, the first 
of April, 1796, George Roberts, who, we believe, was 
then the presiding Elder of the Methodist Society, of the 
city of New- York, called on Abraham E. Brouwer, at 
his house, and informed him that he did not come to 
controvert the subject of universal salvation with him, 
but to inform him that, as he held that doctrine, it was 
not proper that he should at the same time hold an office 
in the church. The reply of Mr. Brouwer was, I have 
frequently offered my class paper to Mr. Dickens, and 
he has as often refused to take it ; but now, sir, you are 
welcome to it ; and accordingly handed it to him. 
When Mr. Roberts was at the door, about to go away, 
Robert Snow, who had long been the intimate friend of 
Mr. Brower, presented himself from the street, and the 



26 ORIGIN AND PROGRESS 

term brother was reciprocated between them. Mr. 
Roberts went away, and Mr. Snow went in. He was soon 
informed of what had taken place, and, after some 
conversation, Mr. Snow came to the house of the writer, 
and asked him to go with him to brother Brouwer's. Here 
the writer was soon informed of what had taken place. 
After a long consultation, we thought it probable that 
the intention of Mr. Roberts was to follow up his act of 
discipline by expulsion ; but, to put the matter beyond 
doubt, we determined to wait on him the next morning ; 
which we did. Mr. Snow was our spokesman, and in- 
formed him that our visit to him was in consequence of 
his visit of the preceding evening, to our brother Brouwer, 
and that we thought, that as he had taken from Mr. 
Brouwer his class paper, perhaps he intended to excom- 
municate. His reply was, " that was my intention !" 
He was then told that on the subject of religion, we 
were all of one mind ; that what he intended to do 
with one, we supposed he would do with all ; and that 
as it was not common to exclude from a religious soci- 
ety for a mere difference of opinion, and as we were all 
men in business, our characters were dear to us ; and 
we requested that he would be so good as give us a cer- 
tificate, stating that it was not for any immorality of 
conduct, but for this difference, that we were thus ex- 
cluded. He answered, that there would be a meeting of 
the leaders that evening, and. that he would lay the mat- 
ter before them. 

In the course of the day, we waited on Mr. Daniel 
Smith, who had formerly been a settled preacher in the 
city, but who was then a local preacher ; and with 
whom we were on very good terms of intimacy ; and of 



OF THE SOCIETY. 



27 



whom we requested, that as he w T ould be at the meeting 
that evening, he would not advocate our cause, but urge 
a decision of it. The meeting was held, and the subject 
of the morning stated. Mr. Smith asked Mr. Roberts — 
brother Roberts, do you ask our opinion that you may 
know what we think, or that you may be governed by 
it ? The answer was : I cannot say that I will be go- 
verned by your opinion, unless it agrees with my own. 
The meeting broke up without coming to any decision. 

Thinking ourselves aggrieved by the situation in 
which Mr. Roberts' conduct had placed us, we wrote him 
a note on the subject, urging him to a decision of our 
case ; that if upon fair inquiry we should be deemed 
worthy of expulsion, he would proceed to that without 
delay ; that if the contrary, he would then publicly ac- 
knowledge us as acceptable members of the Methodist 
Church in the city of New-York. The answer was, 
that he was yet of the same mind as he was when he 
conversed with us ; and that he would act accordingly, 
unless we would previously withdraw. After waiting two 
weeks, another note was written to him, still urging 
him to a decision ; and if it was not agreeable to him to 
do this publicly, then proposing a more private one, by 
a note from him, and furnishing a form of private exclu- 
sion, and one of continuance, notwithstanding our being 
Universalists. This was answered by a note, stating 
that he had found that it was his duty not to be hasty in 
his conclusions, and that neither authority nor resolu- 
tion were wanting in him to carry this business into ef- 
fect. To us this appeared very much like saying, I will 
exclude you, but I will choose my own time to do it. 
We also thought that he might hope, by delaying the ex- 



28 



OKIGIN AND raOGltfiSS 



ercise of the authority which he supposed he had, to find 
something else, that would serve as an excuse indepen- 
dent of our religious opinions ; and after waiting an- 
other week, we took leave of him, and the church to 
which he belonged, by a note, saying : 

Sir, as you cannot, or will not? do us the justice to 
which we are entitled, we do not choose any longer 
to continue in this condition. Therefore, from the date 
hereof, we shall no longer consider ourselves as mem- 
bers of the Methodist Society, nor subject to its preca- 
rious discipline. Signed, 

ABM. E. BROUWER. 
ROBT. SNOW. 
EDWD. MITCHELL, 

New-York 2&th dpril, 1796. 

Some time after, we were read out of the Methodist 
Society, as withdrawn. 

The circumstances in the above statement are cor- 
rect ; for though it is now more than thirty-seven years 
since they took place, they were of such interest in their 
nature, and of so much importance in their results — they 
have been so often the subject of conversation, both 
with friends and enemies, that they could not be easily 
forgotten ; and they are now fresh in the memory of the 
writer ; and the more so, as a difference of opinion has 
ever existed between him and Mr. Brouwer relative to 
their separation from the Methodist Church : the latter 
insisting that they had only withdrawn, while the former 
maintained, that they had been as literally turned out 
as that man had been who, having been invited into a 
house, was afterwards told, that unless he took his 



OF THE SOCIETY. 



29 



leave, he should be put out by force, and, after some 
altercation, thought fit to walk out. Was he, or was 
he not, turned out ? The original letters of Mr. Roberts 
are yet in existence, as are also the rough drafts of the 
letters of B., S., and M., in the handwriting of Robert 
Snow. 

Thus situated, belonging to no church, we seriously 
considered what was our duty, as professors of religion, 
on the subject of worship. We knew that we could 
read the Scriptures together, pray to God for each 
other, sing the praise of God, our Saviour, and be 
helpers to each other in our common faith. We there- 
fore determined to worship together, hoping for the en- 
joyment of the promise of Christ, that where two or 
three are gathered together in his name, he would be 
with them. 

As it is necessary that wherever men associate for 
any permanent purpose, they should distinctly under- 
stand by what rules they would govern themselves in 
their associate character, so we thought it best to draw 
up these rules ; and while we were engaged in this 
work, sundry persons who had previously belonged to 
the Methodist Society, and who, with us, hoped for the 
final happiness of all men, united with us, and among 
these, Barnet Mooney, a highly esteemed friend, whose 
sound good sense was of great service to us in the 
formation of our constitution ; he was the writer of the 
preamble to it. By its title we find its date, for it is 
called Constitution of the Society of United Christian 
Friends, established at New-York, May, 1796. 

This constitution is signed by Abraham E. Brotjwer 
President, and Jacob Clinch, Clerk. 

3 



30 



ORIGIN AND PROGRESS 



In the course of this year we made a small selection 
of hymns for our own use, and published them with our 
constitution annexed. The preface to this little book 
was written by Robert Snow, and we find it signed by 
Abraham E. Brouwer, Elder, and Jacob Clinch, Clerk. 

The prominent features of this constitution were as 
follows ; 

Article l.Jdeclared the title, United Christian Friends. 

Article 2. sec. 1. required that an Elder be chosen 
by ballot to serve one year, and not to be eligible for 
the succeeding year ; and his duty was to watch over 
the interests of the Society. Sec. 2. A Steward chosen 
by ballot for one year, and not to be eligible for the 
succeeding year, to receive and pay all moneys, to 
provide for the Lord's supper and feast of charity, 
and report his accounts every three months. Sec. 3, 
A Clerk chosen by ballot, to serve one year, to keep 
the minutes, and register the names of the members of 
the Society. 

Article 3. divides the society into classes, of not more 
than twelve, nor less than six, each class to choose its 
own leader, whose duty it was to see each member 
once a week, to inquire after their spiritual welfare, 
and to advise, reprove in love, comfort, or exhort, as 
occasion might require ; to report to the Elder and 
Steward the case of such in his class as were sick or 
needy ; and the} r three, or a majority of them, to give 
the requisite relief ; the leader was not to serve the 
same class for more than three months successively. 

Article 4. sec. 1. requires the observance of the 
Lord's supper. Sec. 2. appoints the first Sunday 
evening of each month to celebrate a feast of charity, 
to continue two hours, the last three quarters, to be ap. 



OF THE SOCIETY. 



31 



propriated to speaking of particular experience. Sec, 
2. says, the Society shall meet at convenient times for 
worship and mutual edification. Sec. 4. appoints the 
fourth Tuesday of May, in each year, to elect their ser- 
vants. Sec. 5. appoints the first Tuesday in February, 
May, August, and November, to transact business. 

Article 5. provides for the reception of new members, 
who must have been previously approved unanimously, 
and were required to answer in the affirmative on being 
questioned, 1. As to belief in the existence of God the 
Creator, and accountability at the day of judgment. 
2. Faith in Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah ; and 
that he was sent into the world for the salvation of man- 
kind. 3. That the Scriptures are a revelation from God, 
and a sufficient rule of faith and practice. 4. A deter- 
mination to be devoted to God. 5. A punctual attend- 
ance on the means of grace. These answers being 
given, the Elder gave the right hand of fellowship, in 
the presence of the Society. 

Article 6. acknowledges baptism as an ordinance of 
the Gospel ; but as to the subjects, and mode of admi- 
nistering, each member is left to his own discretion. 

Article 7. is of the expulsion of members, and makes 
the rule as found Mathew xviii. 15, 16, 17. 

Article 8. is of laws, and requires the assent of three 
fourths of the members present, before the law shall 
pass. 

These articles close with a declaration of willingness 
to permit the use of their religious means to Christians 
of any name, provided the party be first introduced to 
the Elder, by a member. 

It is a matter of regret, that the first Church Book of 



32 



ORIGIN AND PROGRESS 



the Society is not now to be found. The one now in 
use begins with a constitution differing from the first? 
and is dated 1st August, 1798. The list of members* 
which immediately follows, begins with the date of 1796* 
May 1st, which appears to fix the day of the Society 
being formed. Fourteen names are of this date ; and 
it is not unworthy of notice, that of these fourteen, ten 
are now dead. One soon returned to England, his na- 
tive country, and has never since been . in America ; 
one has for some time been prevented by ill healthy 
from taking an active part ; one appears no longer in- 
terested. So that of the founders, the writer alone is 
left, (June, 1833,) an active member of the Society of 
United Christian Friends. The Society first worship- 
ped in a room, in the house of Abraham E. Brouwer, but 
the number of the members increasing, it was judged ex- 
pedient to build ; and a house was accordingly erected 
near where the free Episcopal Church in Vandewater- 
street now stands. Shortly after the erection of their first 
house, the writer proposed that the Society should be 
incorporated, but it was not approved. His secular af- 
fairs calling him to remove from the city, he was ab- 
sent part of ? 98 and '99 ; returning May, '99. During 
his absence, Mr. Murray, of Boston, visited the city and 
preached, but not in the house of the Society. November 
12th, 1800, it was determined that a proposition, made a 
month previous, to have the Society become a body 
corporate, and to hold an election on the 17th inst. for 
trustees, should be accepted. And the election was 
held accordingly, on the 17th of November, 1800. On 
December 3d, of the same year, Robert Snow declined 
acting any longer as Elder. A deputation immediately 



OP THE SOCIETY. 



33 



waited on him, to persuade him to continue ; but his an- 
swer was, that he could no longer hold that office, for 
which he found himself inadequate. He and Mr. 
Brouwer left the Society at this time, and their names 
have opposite them the word withdrawn. December 15th, 
1800, another constitution was adopted, something differ, 
ent from the second, inasmuch as it entirely omits class 
meetings. March 24th, 1807, the constitution which has 
governed the Society ever since w T as adopted. It differs 
from those preceding, by omitting the feast of charity. 

When it is considered that the first members of the 
Society^ had all been members of the Methodist Society, 
it is not to be wondered at, that they should have class 
meetings and the feast of charity. The first is well cal- 
culated for those who know little more of religion, than 
that they desire to flee from the wrath to come ; and for 
such we believe it was first principally intended ; and 
if continued with propriety, may be useful to those who 
have made further .progress in faith. And the feast of 
charity, as conducted among the Methodists, may, with 
their views of religion, be very profitable to them. In 
the Society of United Christian Friends it was a very 
temperate repast, a friendly, social, religious meal ; and 
its tendency was to refresh the wearied mind, and to 
cement the bond of brotherhood. The only danger 
to be apprehended from such meetings, is, that in 
conversation some may be led to express themselves 
in a way that may appear like debate ; and this must 
ever be unprofitable. If it be asked, why then were 
the class meetings and feast of charity laid aside? 
the answer is easy. Neither of them is the com. 
mand of God^ and therefore not strictly obligatory 

3* 



34 



ORIGIN AND PROGRESS 



•on men. The first was observed for more than four 
years, and the last for more than ten years. During 
this time many members were added to the Society, who, 
for various reasons, considered these institutions as not 
required of God, nor necessary in themselves ; and 
therefore in the formation of the present constitution 
they were omitted. In June, 1803, the Society determin- 
ed that the writer be ordained as a regular Minister ; 
and he was ordained accordingly on the 18th of July in 
that year. In the spring of 1810 he received an invita- 
tion to settle in Boston, as the colleague of the Rev. 
John Murray ; and it resulted in his acceptance of that 
invitation. Previous to his departure, he delivered the 
following address, which it is deemed proper to insert, 
as showing his motives in making the change. 

To the Society of United Christian Friends, and the 
Members of the Congregation who with them worship 
in Magazine-street. 

Beloved Friends and Brethren, 

When I address you with this double epithet, I 
hope it will not be considered as an invidious distinction 
of character ; for the spirit of friendship is the strong- 
est tie of brotherhood. 

Your speaker believes, that the circumstances of the 
moment make it necessary for him to present you 
with a brief, but comprehensive view of the origin and 
progress of this worshipping assembly. 

About fourteen years since, three persons were dri- 
ven from the Methodist Society by the disgraceful threat 
of expulsion ; and the only reason given to justify this 
severity was, that these men confessed a hope that God, 



OF THE SOCIETY, 



35 



the great Parent of mankind, would finally bring the 
very last even of his prodigal children to the enjoyment 
of the riches and glory of their Father's house. 

Thus excluded from one religious community, and 
believing that their hope would prevent their cordial 
reception into any other, they felt it a duty to asso- 
ciate together, and to worship God alone. 

Others of the same Society, finding themselves in 
a like predicament, joined with these, and they united 
in forming those regulations which should afterwards 
govern their social and public worship. 

The Society soon increased, so that a house for their 
accommodation as a worshipping assembly became ne- 
cessary, and was procured at their private individual 
expense. 

In the process of time, inconveniences appeared to 
arise from their not being known as a corporate body. 
The benign spirit of the law of the state of New-York for 
the incorporation of religious societies, pointed out the 
remedy, and they became a body corporate, by the title 
of The Society of United Christian Friends. Here let 
it be observed, that the principles both of law and equi- 
ty forbad that any but members of the Society should 
be known in this incorporation ; for no one had contri- 
buted, either directly or indirectly, to its support ; pride, 
or a mistaken idea of independence, had hitherto pre- 
vented the reception of any external aid. 

When the house in which you now worship was for 
sale, various reasons appeared to make it desirable to 
procure it ; but the magnitude of the subject made a 
public subscription indispensable. Something was pro- 
cured in this way ; the members of the Society w^re 



36 



ORIGIN AND PROGRESS 



as liberal as their means would allow, and the purchase 
was made. The interest of that part of the purchase 
money which was still unpaid, together with the inci- 
dental expenses of the house, made it necessary to rent 
the pews ; hence arises a distinction which is known 
to exist between those who, as pew-holders, are mem- 
bers of the Congregation only, and those who are mem. 
bers of the incorporated Society ; a distinction, which 
can be considered as arising only from the incorpora- 
tion having taken place at a time, when the Society 
alone bore the whole expense of worship, and the law, 
of course, could recognise them only. 

Totally to do away this distinction would now require 
a special law of the state ; but perhaps this is not desi- 
rable : for it is believed, that those who have evinced 
their attachment to the doctrine of God their Saviour, 
by their stated attendance in this place of worship, have 
always found the Society ready, with open arms, to re- 
ceive them as brethren in the Lord. 

A distinguishing feature in the organization of the 
Society was a plurality of public speakers, who under- 
took their labours without the least idea of pecuniary 
reward. While a plurality of speakers existed, the la- 
bour was comparatively light, and when at one time it 
consisted of five persons, it could scarcely be considered 
as a labour ; but when, from various circumstances, 
the number was reduced to two, and the speakers found 
themselves before a large audience, it became a la- 
bour ; but ihe, burthen was borne with pleasure. At 
this time it was judged expedient, that one should be 
set apart, who should devote his whole time and talents 
to the defence of this truth, that God is the Saviour of all 



OF THE SOCIETY. 



37 



men, and specially of them that believe. And as this would 
necessarily prevent him from attending to the secular 
employment, by which he had hitherto supported him- 
self and his family, it was provided that this support 
should be furnished to him by those for whose profit 
and pleasure he thus laboured ; and the person who 
has since officiated as Elder of the Society, was pub- 
licly acknowledged as the ordained minister of God. 

We pass by the circumstances which immediately 
ensued, as unnecessary to our present purpose, and beg 
leave to state the sentiments, which your Elder has uni- 
formly maintained on the subject of an established 
ministry. And first, that in the technical language of 
the schools, to educate a young man for the ministry, 
and to bring him forward in that character, merely that 
he may obtain by it a support, is to lay him under the 
temptation to advocate as truth what he knows to be 
false, or, at least, to pass by in silence those parts of 
the system which he has nominally espoused, because 
he does not know them to be true. But that when a 
conviction of the truth exists in the mind, and the pro- 
vidence of God draws him forth to testify in its defence, 
if his whole time is engaged therein, and he is thereby 
prevented from having recourse to the ordinary means 
of support, reason and religion both say, that it is a duty 
enjoined on those who unite with him in religious sen- 
timent, and among whom he labours, to render that 
support to him. (Mat. x. 9, 10.) On this subject the 
Saviour speaks in these words : " Provide neither gold, 
nor silver, nor brass, in your purses, nor scrip for your 
journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet 
staves : for the workman is worthy of his Lieat." 



38 



ORIGIN AND PROGRESS 



We have a right to judge of the sincerity of a man ? s 
professions, by the degree of correspondence which his 
actions bear to them. By this rule your speaker is 
willing to be judged, and by it to stand or fall. The 
most distinguished profession vphich he has made, has 
been, that pecuniary reward was not his object ; that 
in testifying for the truth he discharged a duty, and 
found a great reward. Look, then, at his conduct in 
the recent circumstances which have led to his accept- 
ance of the invitation from Boston, and say, has he 
been inconsistent with himself ; or wanting in affection 
towards you ? 

On receiving the first letter desiring him to pay the 
Society there a visit, but at the same time avowing the 
probability of a call to a permanent residence, he put it 
it into the hands of a man, whom he has the happiness 
to call both a Friend and a Christian, and offered to 
sign any letter he would write as an answer, pro- 
vided it. did not contain any thing evidently absurd, (a 
thing not to be supposed.) This was declined. Per- 
haps the question was improper. And this circumstance 
is now stated, only to show, that from the beginning he 
has been desirous to submit to others the determination 
of this important question, rather than take it upon him- 
self. During his absence at Boston, the circumstances, 
under which he went, were well known to those who 
worship here ; and after his return, when he received 
an invitation to settle there, he published it from the 
pulpit here. In private intercourse he sought the ad- 
vice of those who, he supposed, would most impartially 
weigh the merits of the case. But from these the usual 
answer was^ this is a case in which no one can advise 



OF THE SOCIETY. 



39 



you ; you must judge for yourself. He has always de- 
clared, that he believed the people here could do with- 
out him, and that his labours there would be more use- 
ful, inasmuch as his whole time would be devoted to one 
object. If, therefore, in following the dictates of his 
own judgment, he has erred, it is an error of the judg- 
ment only. 

If pecuniary motives should be hinted, as having in- 
fluence, he appeals to his most intimate associates, whe- 
ther he did not hesitate on the question of duty calling 
him to remove, even at the hazard of abridging the usual 
enjoyments of his family. He would call to your re- 
membrance, that he has rejected the invitation of a fond 
mother to return to his native country, receive, as a 
free gift, a stock in trade, and enter on the enjoyment 
of a lucrative business. Though other reasons had a 
degree of weight, the preponderating argument was the 
discharge of duty as a Christian minister. He has, in 
the course of the last year, twice rejected propositions 
which it would have been extreme folly to refuse under 
ordinary circumstances, and were refused, only be- 
cause he thought they would, at some future time, pre- 
vent his being able to accept a situation that would per- 
mit him to devote more of his time to the study of the 
Scriptures, and the propagation of their truth. Will it 
be said, that though all this maybe true, interest has, at 
last, prevailed. He would only remark, that the dispo- 
sition which has been shown here on this subject, is a 
sufficient reply. 

Shall it be said, that the opportunity of speaking to 
a larger audience is such a temptation to his vanity, 
that he cannot resist it ? This vanity is checked by the 



40 



ORIGIN AND PROGRESS 



consideration, that he will be only building on another 
man's foundation. This disposition is more likely to be 
fed by continuing here, among a people increasing in 
number, and likely to increase in a greater degree. 

His conduct is, therefore, the result of his judgment, 
proceeding from a sense of duty. He makes no pre- 
tensions to infallibility ; he may have erred, but he does | 
lay claim to the merit of having intended well. He takes 
pleasure in the thought, that those who are most inti- I 
mately acquainted with the merits of the case, will be j 
most disposed to approve his motive ; and he makes 
this statement principally with a view of giving inform- 
ation to those who, from want of knowledge, may have 
misjudged his conduct. 

Brethren of the Society of United Christian Friends, 
remember the saying of your Redeemer : " By this shall 
all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye love one 
another." Look on the members of the congregation, 
the steady habitual worshippers with you ; and remem- 
ber that among them are found some of the best in- 
formed, and most zealous advocates of the Redeemer. 
Draw them with the cords of love as with the bands of a 
man, and we trust your labour of love shall not be in vain. 

Ye who are members of the congregation, but not of 
the Society, — if your hearts are with us, why not cast 
your lot among us ; and thus strengthen the bond of 
union which already exists. 

Ye who are but transient visiters ; we entreat you to 
believe of us, that Christ is the foundation of our hope, 
and the top stone of our rejoicing — that we believe he 
tasted death for every man, and that he shall see of the 
travail of his soul and be satisfied. 



OF THE SOCIETY. 



41 



Friends of the Redeemer, by whatever name ye are 
known, contend earnestly, but affectionately, for the 
faith once delivered to the saints — the faith of Abraham^ 
who believed God, when he told him that in Christ, the 
promised seed, should all the nations of the earth be 
blessed ; and it was accounted to him for righteousness. 
Manifest to the world, that the grace of God, which 
bringeth salvation to all men, teacheth you, that denying 
ungodliness and worldly lusts, you should live soberly, 
righteously, and godly in the present world. And may 
the God of grace and glory bless you for ever and ever. 
Amen. EDWD. MITCHELL. 

New-York^ August oth, 1810. 

When the writer was thus removed from the So- 
ciety in New-York, he left it with the most sincere de- 
sire for its welfare, and the most reasonable assurance 
in his own mind, that it would prosper ; and he entered 
on the discharge of his duties in Boston, under the ap- 
prehension, that such a successor to the celebrated John 
Murray, must by comparison appear to a great disad- 
vantage. Yet the people appeared to be pleased with 
his exertions ; and their kind attentions to him were 
such as can never.be forgotten. They have ever been 
acknowledged, and ever will be. Here he thought he 
was to live, and die ; he had no other expectation or 
desire. But the uncertainty of all earthly things is 
known to a proverb ; and so he found it in this case, for 
his hopes for New-York were not realized. It is un- 
necessary now to inquire into the reasons why ; but, it 
is proper here to state the proceedings of the Society 
in New-York. " The Trustees conceiving that it would 
4 



42 



ORIGIN AND PROGRESS 



promote the interest of the church by recalling the Rev. 
Mr. Edward Mitchell from Boston, they appointed a 
meeting of the Society and Congregation, on Tuesday 
evening, 28d July, 1811. 

" The purport of the meeting was then stated by bro- 
ther Clinch, and investigation invited. No objection 
being made to recalling Mr. Mitchell, the question was 
put by the Chairman, and passed in the affirmative,, 
nearly unanimously. 

" A correspondence then commenced between the 
Trustees and Mr. Mitchell, and the Committee of the 
Society in Boston, (copies of which are in the posses- 
sion of the clerk,) and which ended in Mr. Mitchell's 
accepting the call of the Trustees. And he accordingly 
arrived here on the 22d day of October, 181 1 ; and com- 
menced his public labours on the Sunday following."* 

Was the writer then ungrateful to his numerous 
friends in Boston ? No, but he would not easily forget the 
Society in New-York, of which he was then the oldest 
member ; for which he had made some sacrifices, and 
laboured sedulously for many years. In the hope of meet- 
ing the wishes of all parties, he proposed to the Society 
in Boston, that the pulpit should be considered vacant ; 
that in the mean time he would discharge its duties ; 
and when an acceptable successor was found, he would 
resign ; and that if, in the mean time, a suitable per- 
son was found to fill the pulpit in New-York, then no 
Society but that in Boston should have any claim on 
him. This proposition was not noticed ; and he has 
long been convinced, that, had it been accepted, New- 



* Taken from the Trustees* book. 



OF THE SOCIETY. 



43 



York would have been supplied, and his residence con- 
tinued in Boston. 

On his leaving Boston, the Rev. Paul Dean became 
his successor, as the colleague of Mr. Murray, and 
continued so till the death of Mr. Murray. Some 
time after this, the Boston Congregation divided, and a 
new house was built, which Mr. Dean was to occupy ; 
and the old Congregation invited the writer to return to 
them ; but his answer was, that as the people whom he 
served appeared to be satisfied with him, and he had 
no reason to be dissatisfied with them, there could be 
no propriety in his leaving them. The writer was in- 
vited to attend, and officiate at the opening of the new 
house ; and did accordingly attend. It is a little remark, 
able that the chairman of the committee thus inviting 
him, had been chairman of the committee of the old 
house, at the time of his leaving Boston. 

On the writer's return to New- York, in 1811, he re- 
ceived a hearty welcome ; and the affairs of the So- 
ciety went on prosperously; so much so, that "At a 
meeting of the Trustees, held at the meeting house 22d 
July, 1816, it was stated by the Treasurer that in con- 
sequence of an address publicly made by the Rev. 
Mr. Edward Mitchell to the Congregation, at the request 
of the Trustees, a considerable addition had been made 
to the subscription list for his support."* On this his 
salary was raised fifty per cent.* This address was laid 
on the table for the inspection of those who thought fit 
to examine it ; and the writer of this would have no ob- 
jection to furnish it, or extract from it, but it shortly 
after disappeared, and he has never been able to recover 



* Taken from the Trustees' book, 



ORIGIN AND PROGRESS 



it ; and though he may probably yet have the rough 
draught from which it was written, it will at present suf- 
fice to say, that it contained a statement of the proba- 
ble current expenses of his family ; and this amounted 
to above a half more than what he then received. 

On the 17th of September, 1817, the Trustees met, and 
considered " the subject of building a new house of wor- 
ship and the necessity for this measure was proved 
pretty evidently by one of the friends placing himself 
where he determined the fact, that of a Sunday even- 
ing, not more than one third of those who came to the 
church could gain admittance. 

" The Congregation assembled the 22d of Septem- 
ber, 1817, and subscribed, as loans, eight thousand 
eight hundred and thirty dollars, and as donations, two 
hundred and twenty-three dollars."* 

Ground was rented from the late Mr. George Jane- 
way, " and Samuel Tooker, Isaac Pierson, and Isaac 
Marquand, were chosen a committee, to be denominated 
the Building Committee, with power to erect and com- 
plete a new meeting house, at the corner of Duane and 
Augustus streets."* 

The church was built at an expense of more than 
twenty thousand dollars ; and the time it was opened 
may be judged from the following memorandum. 

Sunday, 20th of December, 1818, the Trustees met 
after service in the new church.* 

For nearly seven years the new church appeared to 
do well ; but about that time their finances became re- 



* Trustees* book. 



OF THE SOCIETY, 45 

duced, from causes not now to be dwelt on ; and as a re- 
medy, recourse was had to the reduction of the salary 
of their Minister. On the thirteenth of May, 1828, he 
received a communication on the subject, of which the 
following is the close : " And that the said Treasurer 
be, and he is hereby requested to assure Mr. Mitchell, 
that the foregoing arrangement arises solely from the 
necessity of the case, owing to the reduced state of the 
funds of the Society ; and he is further requested to as- 
sure Mr. Mitchell, that the Trustees feel a deep regret 
in being obliged to resort to this necessary measure, in 
order to sustain the cause which he and they feel so 
much interest in ; and he is further authorized to assure 
Mr. Mitchell, that if, in the course of Divine Providence, 
the temporal concerns of the Society should warrant it, 
the Trustees will feel great pleasure in rewarding his 
highly Esteemed services in some way proportioned to 
their acknowledged merit."* We find little more of 
the book of the Trustees after this period, than the or- 
dinary routine of electing Trustees, passing the accounts 
of their Treasurer, &c, excepting another resolution 
on the subject of their Minister's salary, dated May 12th, 
1829. We pass it by without further notice for the 
present. If these things were painful to the Trustees, 
and such members of the Society and Congregation 
as were acquainted with them, they cannot be less so 
to the writer of this article. 



*Trustees' book. 



CATECHISM, 

FOR THE USE OF THE 

SOCIETY OF UNITED CHRISTIAN FRIENDS. 



Question. Do you make any profession of religion ? 
Answer, I do. 

Q. What religion do you profess ? 

A. The Christian. 

Q. What is the Christian faith? 

A. I will tell you : — I believe in God, the Father Al- 
mighty, maker of heaven and earth : 

And in Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord ; Who 
was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin 
Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, 
dead, and buried ; He descended into Hell ; The third 
day he rose from the dead ; He ascended into Heaven, 
and sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father Al- 
mighty ; From thence he shall come to judge the quick 
and the dead : 

I believe in the Holy Ghost ; The Holy Catholic 
Church ; The communion of Saints ; The forgiveness 
of sins ; The resurrection of the body, And the life 
everlasting. Amen. 

Q. Why do you believe in the existence of God ? 

A. Because that which may be known of God is mani- 
festto us ; for God hath showed it unto us. For the invi- 
sible things of him, from the creation of the world, are 



48 



CATECHISM. 



clearly seen, being understood by the things that are 
made, even his eternal power and Godhead. (Rom. i. 
19, 20.) 

Q. Why is God called Father ? 

A. Because it is a term applicable to the author of 
being, whether mental or physical, and therefore strictly 
applicable to the Author of all being. Because Jesus 
Christ instructs us to address him by that endearing 
name. Because he discharges to us all the duties belong- 
ing to that character, by providing for all our wants, natu- 
ral and spiritual, giving us the perishing bread that sup- 
ports the perishing body ; the bread of life that came 
down from Heaven, that we might feed by faith, and 
live for ever ; by instructing us in wisdom ; by warning 
us of the evil of transgression ; by correcting our wan- 
derings, and yet still loving us freely. 

Q. Why is God the Father called Almighty? 

A. Because he sustains not only all the attributes of 
a father's character, but each in infinite degree. 

Q. What necessity is there for introducing God the 
Father Almighty, as Maker of Heaven and Earth, when 
this is implied in his being acknowledged as Creator ? 

A. Because these sensible objects are ever before 
us ; in them we constantly see the magnitude and the 
minuteness of the works of God. Day unto day utter- 
eth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. 
(Ps. xix. 2.) 

Q. Why is Jesus Christ called the Son of God I 

A. Because he came not by the will of man, but of 
God, who says, (Ps. ii. 7.,) Thou art my Son, this day 
haye I begotten thee. (Heb. i. 5.) 



CATECHISM. 



49 



Q. What is the import of the name, Jesus Christ ? 

A. The name Jesus signifies Saviour, and was given 
to him (Mat. i. 21.) because he should save his people 
from their sins. Christ signifies anointed, and presents 
him to us as Prophet, Priest, and King of human na- 
ture. (Ex. xxx. 22 — 33. xxviii. 41. 1 Kings xix. 15, 
16. Acts iv. 27. x. 38.) 

Q. What advantages have we from this character of 
Jesus Christ ? 

A. As Jesus, we know him to be Saviour ; and as 
Christ, we see the way of salvation : for as a Prophet, 
he instructs us, and tells us that he came to give him- 
self for the life of the world ; (John vi. 33. 51. ;) as 
the High Priest of our profession, he offered himself on 
the cross ; and when we behold this sacrifice, we are 
constrained to acknowledge him Lord of Lords, and 
King of Kings. (Rev. xvii. 14.) 

Q. What proof have you that Christ was conceived 
by the Holy Ghost, and born of a Virgin ? 

A. The angel Gabriel was sent from God (Luke i. 
26.) to the Virgin Mary ; (v. 27. ;) he pronounced her 
blessed (v. 28.) with the favour of God ; (v. 30. ;) and 
informed her, that she should conceive a son, whom she 
should call Jesus ; that his kingdom should have no 
end. And in answer to the difficulty of a virgin being 
a mother, was instructed that it should be by the power 
of the Holy Ghost, and that, therefore, the holy thing 
which should be born of her should be called the Son 
ofGod. 

Q. What proof have you, that Christ rose from the 
dead, and ascended into heaven ? 



50 



CATECHISM. 



A. The Apostles continually asserted this fact as 
the ground of their hope in him. After his death and 
burial, being risen from the dead, he conversed with 
them, and was seen of five hundred brethren at once. 
(Acts i. 1 — 11.) It was in the presence of the Apos- 
tles that he ascended. 

Q. What do you mean by Christ sitting at the right 
hand of God ? 

A. We do not, strictly speaking, or as man would 
speak of his fellow man, attribute to God, personality, 
parts, or passions ; but this mode of expression is ne- 
cessary to make us familiar with the character of God, 
and his government of his creatures ; and being thus 
understood, we speak of the hand of God, as expressive 
of his power ; and the right hand of God, as descrip- 
tive both of power and of honour. (Acts vii. 55. Col. 
in. 1.) 

Q. Will Christ indeed come to judge the quick and 
the dead? 

A. God hath appointed a day in which he will judge 
the world in righteousness, by that man whom he hath 
ordained. (Acts xvii. 31. Rom. ii. 16.) 

Q. What do you believe of the Holy Ghost ? 

A. Ghcst is synonymous with spirit. God is a Spi- 
rit, to be worshipped in spirit and in truth ; (John iv. 
24. ;) and they who come to him, must believe that he 
is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently 
seek him. (Heb. xi. 6.) 

Q. What is the Holy Catholic Church, and why is 
it called so ? 

A. It is the company of true believers in all ages : 
and is Holy, because it is of God ; Catholic, because it 
is universal ; and Church, because the term signifies 



CATECHISM. 



51 



the many assembled in one, or for one purpose ; and 
believers, though many, are one body in Christ. (Rom. 
xii. 5. Col. i. 24.) 

Q. What do you mean by the communion of Saints ? 

A. It is the common enjoyment which all the sancti- 
fied have with God in the sense of his presence, (Gen, 
v. 22. vi. 9.,) and which, individually, each has with 
every other. (Prov. xxvii. IT. Eph. iv. 5.) 

Q. What do you believe respecting the forgiveness 
of sins 1 

A* I believe that the forgiveness of sin was one of 
the objects God had in view in the exaltation of Christ ; 
(Acts v. 31. ;) which Christ had in view in the commis- 
sion he gave to Paul ; (Acts xxvi. 18. ;) and Paul, faith- 
ful to his commission, teaches redemption through the 
blood of Christ, the forgiveness of sins, (Eph. i. 7.,) 
that God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven us. (Eph. iv. 
32. Col. i. 14.) God is said to be faithful and just to 
forgive us our sins, (1 John i. 9.,) and hath forgiven 
them for Christ's sake. (1 John ii. 12.) 

Q. What do you believe of the resurrection of the 
body! 

A. I believe, that in the resurrection, the natural 
body shall be raised in a state of improvement as much 
superior to its present state, as all our ideas of spirit, or 
mind, are superior to those of mere matter ; for though 
the body is consigned to the earth as a natural body, in 
corruption, dishonour, and weakness ; yet it shall be 
raised in incorruption, glory, and power, a spiritual 
body. (ICor. xv. 42—44.) 

Q. What do you mean by life everlasting ? 



52 



CATECHISM. 



A. I mean a conscious sense of being and of bliss, 
without alloy, and without end. (1 John iii. 2. v. 11. 
John v. 26. xiv. 19.) 

Q. Why do you say, amen ? 

A. Used at the close of acreed, it means, " so it is 
and may be considered as a repetition of the sentiments 
expressed in that creed. 

Q. What are the attributes of God ? 

A. Wisdom, love, and power ; each infinite. 

Q. What proof have you of this ? 

A. In his word, and in his works. 

Q. Do these constitute all the essential attributes of 
God? 

A. They do. 

Q. What proof have you of this ? 

A. Their union constitutes a perfect character. You 
cannot take from any of these attributes in the smallest 
degree, without destroying that perfection ; nor can 
any thing be attributed to God, but what may be found 
in one of these attributes, or flowing from their union. 

Q. Is not justice an attribute of God? 

A. Justice in Deity, is that unerring wisdom which 
discerns between guilt and innocence, united with the 
power which executes a just sentence. 

Q. Do any of these attributes appear in Jesus? 

A. They are all manifest in the Redeemer, who, by 
wisdom, spake as never man spake ; by the love of 
God, offered himself a sacrifice for sin ; and by the 
omnipotence of his power, rose from the dead, the tri- 
umphant conqueror of death and the grave. 

Q. What is the chief end of man ? 



■ 



CATECHISM. 



53 



A. Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy 
him for ever. 

Q. What rule hath God given, to direct us how we 
may glorify and enjoy him ? 

A. The word of God, w T hich is contained in the Scrip, 
tures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to 
direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him. 

Q. What do the Scriptures principally teach ? 

A. The Scriptures principally teach what man is to 
believe concerning God, and what duty God requires 
of man. 

Q. What is God? 

A. God is a spirit ; self existent, unchangeable, infi- 
nite in wisdom, power, and goodness. 

Q. Are there more Gods than one ? 

A. There is but one only, the living and true God. 

Q. Under what manifestations hath God made him- 
self known to men ? 

Jl. He hath manifested himself under the several, but 
not contradictory characters of Father, W'ord, and 
Spirit. 

Q. How doth he manifest himself as Father ? 

A. This, being a name given to whatever is the au- 
thor of being, is most appropriately given to God, the 
creator of all ; and is especially due to him as discharg- 
ing all the duties which belong to a father's character : 
by providing for all, instructing all, correcting all, and 
never ceasing to love all. 

Q. What hope do we derive from this knowledge of 
the attributes of God ? 

A. Infinite love must desire our happiness ; infinite 
wisdom must know the means which will effect this 

5 



54 



CATECHISM. 



gracious desire ; and infinite power must be able to de- 
stroy all that would impede. 

Q. What was the character of man, as he came from 
the hand of his Creator ? 

A. It was " very good ; " for man was created male 
and female, in the image of God. (Gen. i. 27, 31.) 

Q. Did he continue in that state ? 

A. He fell by transgressing the law of his Maker., 
The woman was deceived by the serpent ; and her hus- 
band willingly and knowingly joined in her offence. 
(Gen.iii. 6. 1 Tim. ii. 14.) 

Q. What followed this transgression ? 

A. The sin of our first parents was followed by the 
sentence of God, which was sorrow and death. (Gen» 
iii. 17. 19.) 

Q. What is the effect of the fall on the human race 1 
A. In Adam all die ; (1 Cor. xv. 22 ;) and men are 
by nature children of wrath. (Eph. ii. 3. Institutes b. 2. 
ch. 1.) Every one who has come to the knowledge of 
good and evil, knows that he is not only led away by 
the deceitfulness of sin, but that he often sins against 
the clearer light of his better judgment. (Rom. vii. 
17, 18.) 

Q. Does God leave man in this deplorable state, and 
give him no hope of redemption ? 

A. By no means, he hath not left himself without 
evidence of his good will to man, in the gifts of nature ; 
(Acts xiv. 17 ; ) and when our first parents transgressed, 
he promised that the seed of the woman should bruise 
the serpent's head. (Gen. iii. 15.) 

Q. What is the special import of that promise ? 



CATECHISM. 



55 



A. That the evil which had entered into the world, 
should be totally destroyed. 

Q. Hath that work of deliverance been accom- 
plished 1 

A. Christ, the promised seed, (Gal. iii. 16,) took an 
him our nature, or flesh and blood ; and in that nature 
tasted death for every man ; (Heb. ii. 9 ;) that through 
death, he might destroy him that had the power of death ; 
that is, the devil ; and deliver them who, through fear 
of death, were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 
(Heb. ii. 14, 15.) 

Q. How then is it, that we do not sec every man 
freed from this bondage ? 

A. Christ hath indeed finished the work given him 
to do. (John xvii. 4.) When he hung on the cross, and 
had received the vinegar, he said " it is finished," and 
he bowed his head and gave up the ghost. (John xix. 
30.) Thus the atoning sacrifice was made, by his giv- 
ing his flesh for the life of the world. (John vi. 51.) But 
the effect of this sacrifice is progressive ; for it was 
enjoined on the elders of the church, to take heed unto 
themselves, and to all the flock, over which the Holy 
Ghost had made them overseers — to feed the church 
of God, which he had purchased with his own blood. 
(Acts xx. 28.) 

Q. Is there further evidence, that the effect of Christ's 
atoning sacrifice is progressive ? 

A. There is ; for it is written, that Christ gave gifts 
unto men ; some apostles, and some prophets, and some 
evangelists, and some pastors and teachers : for the 
perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, 
for the edifying of the body of Christ till we all come 



56 



CATECHISM. 



in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the 
Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of 
the stature of the fulness of Christ. (Eph. iv. 8. 11, 
12.) 

z Q* What is the work of the ministry ? 

A. To preach the Gospel to every creature* (Mark 
xvi. 15.) 

Q. What is the Gospel ? 

A. It is the promise God made to Abraham, and fuU 
filled in Christ Jesus. 

Q. What was that promise ? 

A. In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be 
blessed; (Gen. xxii. 18;) and this seed is Christ* 
(Gal. iii. 16.) 

Q. What is the blessing thus given ? 

A, Eternal life ; for the record of God is, that he 
hath given to us eternal life ; and this life is in his Son. 
(1 John v. 11.) 

Q. What is the body of Christ ? 

A. The head of every man is Christ. ( 1 Cor. xL 
3.) We are members of his body, of his flesh, and of 
his bones. (Eph. v. 30.) 

Q. May we not be excusable, even if we should 
not believe that God hath given us this life in his Son 1 

A, We are utterly inexcusable : we treat God with 
indignity, we commit blasphemy, by charging him with 
falsehood ; for he that believeth not God, hath made 
him a liar. (1 John v. 10.) 

Q. What advantage is there enjoyed by the belief of 
this Gospel ? 

A» Present peace, and hope of future glory ; for we 
which have believed do enter into rest ; (Heb. iv. 3 ;) 
and though for the believer to live is Christ, (or the 



CATECHISM. 



57 



joys of his salvation,) yet to die is gain ; (Phil. i. 
21 ;) it is to be with Christ, which is far better. (Phil, 
i. 23.) 

Q. What disadvantage is there to the unbeliever? 

A. While a man doubts of his salvation, we think he 
must fear, and we know that fear hath torment. ( 1 
John iv. 18.) He is condemned already, because he 
>elieveth not in the name of the only begotten Son of 
Grod. 

Q. Does God require of us to believe without evi- 
dence 1 

A. Never ; he invites us to come and reason with 
him, and promises, as the result, that though our sins 
be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow ; though 
they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. (Is. 
L 18.) 

Q. On what ground did Jesus condemn the Jews for 
rejecting him ? 

A. He appeals to his teaching and miracles, saying : 
If I had not come and spoken unto them, they'had not had 
sin, but now they have no cloak for their sin ; and if I 
had not done 'among them the works which none other 
man did, they had not had sin. (John xv. 22, 24.) 

Q. Will the Jew always remain under the divine dis- 
pleasure 2 

A. No ; for the blindness under which he now wan- 
d-ers is happened, in part, to Israel, until the fulness of 
the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be 
saved. They are yet beloved for the fathers' sakes. 
(Rom. xi. 25, 26. 28.) 

Q. Is the Gentile an inheritor of the promises made 
to the Jewish people ? 

5* 



58 



CATECHISM. 



A. He is ; for Christ, who is our peace, hath made 
both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of par- 
tition, and through him we both have access, by one 
spirit, unto the Father. (Eph. ii. 13 — 18.) 

Q. Is the Gospel of salvation to be preached to unbe- 
lievers ? 

A. It is ; and was so preached at Ephesus ; for, af- 
ter they had heard the word of truth, the Gospel of their 
salvation, they trusted in Christ. (Eph. i. 13.) 

Q. If the object of Christ was, that he might recon- 
cile both Jew and Gentile unto God in one body, by 
the cross, is not the ultimate result, that all are the 
saved of the Lord ? 

A. It is ; for on this very account the apostles both 
laboured and suffered reproach, because they trusted 
in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, spe- 
cially of those that believe. (1 Tim. iv. 10.) 

Q. Can God be the Saviour of unbelievers ? 

A. He can, and is ; for surely the members of the 
Church of Ephesus were unbelievers before they heard 
the Gospel of their salvation ; but, hearing the good 
news, and believing it to be true, they then trusted in 
Christ, even in that Saviour who had purchased them 
with his blood, when as yet they had no faith in him. 

Q. If Christ is the Saviour of them that believe, how 
can he be the Saviour of all ? 

A. This text does not contradict itself. If God be 
the Saviour of all men, he is necessarily my Saviour ; 
and I, believing that he is my Saviour, experience the 
special salvation as a necessary result of my faith in 
him as the Saviour of all, I have present peace and 



CATECHIS3I. 



59 



rest, and the assurance of future glory. (Heb. iv. 3. 
Phil. i. 23.) 

Q. Will not this doctrine of unbounded grace per- 
mit licentiousness ? 

A. The extreme reverse is the truth ; for the grace of 
God, that bringeth salvation to all men, hath appeared, (the 
marginal reading,) teaching us, that denying ungodliness 
and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, 
and godly, in this present world. (Tit. ii. 11, 12.) This 
is the morality which the doctrine of the salvation of all 
men teacheth us. Now, passing by the negative of de- 
nying ungodliness and worldly lusts, and even the 
positive duties of living soberly and righteously, we fix 
our attention on the life of godliness ; we ask ourselves 
what is it ? and where shall we find it ? And the answer 
which presents itself to our understanding is, that 
godly is godlike, or like the life of God ; and where 
shall we find what the life of God is so well as in the 
life of Jesus, who was God manifest in the flesh, and 
yet laid down his life for those by whose hands he was 
slain, and in his expiring breath prayed, saying, Father, 
forgive them, for they know not what they do ! (Luke 
xxiii. 34.) What morality can exceed this ? Yet this 
is the morality which the grace that bringeth salvation 
to all men teacheth us. 

Q. And do the professors of your religion act thus ? 

A. We are constrained to confess that we are not 
apt scholars ; but the question was not what we do, but 
what the principles of our religion teach us to do. 

Q. What are the general principles of Christian mo= 
rality ? 

A. Love to God, and love to man, (Mat. xxii. 36 — 



60 



CATECHISM. 



40.) And these principles are given to us at large, in 
the book of Exodus, in the 20th chapter, from the 1st 
to the 18th verse. 

Q. What think you of the observance of the Chris- 
tian Sabbath ? 

A. The Jews were commanded to appropriate the 
seventh day (or seventh part of time) as a Sabbath, or 
rest from labour ; and Christians in all ages, have been 
accustomed to consider the first day of the week as a 
Christian Sabbath ; inasmuch as on this day their 
Lord triumphed over death by his resurrection ; made 
himself known to the women who attended at his tomb ; 
(Mat. xxviii. 9 ;) also the disciples going to Emmaus, 
where he was made known to them in the breaking of 
bread; (Luke xxiv. 31 ;) and in the evening of the 
same day, to his disciples, Thomas being absent ; 
(John xx. 19—24 ;) and on that day week, the Christian 
Sabbath sennight, seven nights intervening, or eight 
days, the first and last being reckoned, Jesus was with 
his disciples, and offered Thomas the proof that he de- 
sired, that he might put his finger into the prints of 
the nails, and his hand into his side. 

This was the second Christian Sabbath. 

The disciples came together to break bread, on the 
first day of the week. (Acts xx* 7.) 

Q. What appears to be the reasonable observance of 
the Christian Sabbath ? 

A. An entire abstinence from labour, works of ne- 
cessity and mercy excepted. 

Q. What should occupy our attention on that day ? 

A. The worship of God, in public and in private ; 



CATECHISM. 



61 



the improvement of the mind, in the knowledge of God, 
and of ourselves. 

Q. You say that the disciples came together to break 
bread on the first day of the week. Why did they do 
this? 

A. The Lord had commanded them to do this, in re- 
membrance of him. And obedience on our part, is the 
observance of the Lord's supper. 

Q. May we neglect this with impunity ? 

A. By no means ; for as respects the natural body, 
we must eat bread or die; so, spiritually, we must par- 
take of the body and blood of Christ, or there is no life 
in us. (John vi. 51.) 

Q, Are all required to be partakers of the commu- 
nion ? 

A. Whoever call Jesus Lord and Master, we think, 
are consequently bound, as his servants, to obey this 
command of their Lord and Master. 

Q. But do we not run the hazard of eating and drink- 
ing condemnation ? 

A. Not so long as we act from a pure motive, and 
discern the Lord's body. 

Q. What motive would render our observance im- 
pure ? 

A. When our object would be any secular advantage, 
such as honour, profit, or to be seen of men. 

Q. What is it to discern the Lord's body, in this ob- 
servance ? 

A. When we consider the bread as an emblem of the 
body of Christ, the bread of life ; (John vi. 33 ;) the 
many grains now being united in one, constituting 
one bread, or piece of bread ; and the distinctions 



62 



CATECHISM. 



which may have existed in the harvest field no longer 
discernible ; the bread which we break is it not the 
communion of the body of Christ ? for we being many 
are one bread and one body. (1 Cor. x. 16, 17.) And 
the last process through which bread passes to make 
it fit nutriment, is that of fire. The bread hath pass- 
ed through this, and calls to our remembrance the 
sufferings of our Lord for our salvation. If we are 
sometimes called to the endurance of fiery trials, (1 
Pet. iv. 12,) what must have been the sufferings of our 
Lord ? Again, when we consider the kingdom of hea- 
ven as likened to leaven, which was hid in three mea- 
sures of meal, till the whole was leavened, (Mat. xiii, 
33,) we think of Christ taking upon him our nature, 
body, soul, and spirit, and the divine influence thereof 
remaining till the least and last particle shall be fully sa- 
turated thereby. 

The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the 
communion of the blood of Christ ? (1 Cor. x. 16.) Here 
also we observe the many in one, and the distinctions 
which may have existed in the vineyard, no longer dis- 
cernible, but one cup and one quality ; the wine an 
emblem of the blood of Christ ; and when mixed with 
water, it calls to our remembrance that when the sol- 
diers spear pierced the side of the Saviour, forth- 
with came thereout blood and water. By faith we see 
the fountain opened in the house of David, for sin and 
for uncleanness. (Zech. xiii. 1.) 

Q. But may we not err through ignorance in this 
matter ? 

A. We may, and we fear many do. Thus, when any 
eome to the table, considering their participation as 



CATECHISM. 



63 



taking upon them, the most solemn oath of obedience 
to the law of God ; what must the result be, but a con- 
viction that they have vowed or sworn to the Lord and 
broken that oath or vow ? The soul must then feel the 
sense of having committed perjury ; and who that par- 
takes under this mistaken sense of the matter, can for 
a day, or even an hour, say that he has not offended 
by deed, word, or thought ? One evil thought enter- 
tained, makes him guilty in the eye of the law. 

Q. Is it not better then to refrain altogether, seeing 
there is this danger ? 

A. No, for though it is our duty to seek the most 
perfect knowledge of what our duty is, yet still, the way 
of duty is the way of safety ; and according to the 
measure of knowledge we have, we ought to obey. For 
it is the command of our Lord and Master, that we 
should eat and drink in remembrance of him. And it is 
worthy of our observation, that although the Corinthi- 
ans erred so greatly, as to turn the observation of the 
supper into something like a bacchanalian feast, and for 
which some were weak and sickly, and many slept 
(1 Cor.xi. 30.) the sleep of death ; the apostle imme- 
diately adds, that when we are judged, we are chasten- 
ed of the Lord, that we should no be condemned with 
the world. 

Q. Have we a right to forbid any from coming to 
the table ? 

A. We have no right ; the act itself is an acknow- 
ledgment of the Lord, who says, do this ; and we know 
no reason why we should assume authority, and forbid 
obedience in this case, that would not apply to any and 
every other command of God. In the judgment of 



64 



CATECHISM. 



charity, we ought to suppose the party sincere. Who 
art thou that judgest another man's servant ? To his 
own master he standeth or falleth. (Rom. xiv. 4.) 

Q. What think you of the doctrine of repentance ? 

A. Repentance is a change of purpose, and may be 
evinced to man by a change of practice. Repentance 
toward God is a rejection of all trust in, and love to any 
created thing, in comparison with the trust we ought to 
have in, and love to God, and an entire and unbounded 
trust in, and love to God. 

Q. What is the state of the man who trusts in man, 
and not in God? 

A. He is condemned of God ; is like the heath in the 
desert, and doth not see when good cometh. (Jer. xvii. 
5,6.) 

Q- What is the state of the man who trusts in God ? 

A. He is blessed of God; he is as a tree planted by 
the waters, that spreadeth out her roots by the river, 
and shall not see when heat cometh ; but her leaf shall 
be green, and shall not be careful in the year of drought, 
neither shall cease from yielding fruit. (Jer. xvii. 7, 8.) 

Q. What think you of the doctrine of baptism ? 

A. External baptism is the mode of entrance into 
the visible church ; the baptism of the Spirit is the in- 
fluence on the mind of those truths which the Spirit of 
truth teacheth. (John iii. 3 — 11.) 

Q. What is the doctrine of regeneration ? 

A. It is when by faith in the abundant mercy of 
God, he hath begotten us again unto a lively hope, by 
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (1 
Pet. i. 3.) 



CATECHISM. 



Q. Why should the resurrection of Christ give us 
this hope ? 

A. Because he, being delivered for our offences, 
was raised again for our justification ; therefore, being 
justified, by believing these truths of his being so de- 
livered for our offences, and raised for our justifica- 
tion, we have, as the necessary consequence, peace 
with God ; and we have it thus through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. (Rom. iv. 25. v. 1.) 

Q. What is the new birth ? 

A. It is the being born again, not of corruptible seed, 
but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth 
and abideth for ever. And this is the word which by 
the Gospel is preached unto you. (1 Pet. i. 23. 25.) 

Q. Is it a moral duty to believe in Jesus ? 

A. It is ; for if we do not, God will require it of us. 
(Deut. xviii. 19.) This is his commandment, that we 
should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ. 
(1 John iii. 23.) 

Q. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter, 

A. Fear God, and keep his commandments ; for this 
is the whole duty of man. (Eccl. xii. 13.) 



6 



1 



MARRIAGE CEREMONY, 



(The officiating minister addressing the bridegroom, 
says ;) 

Your name, sir, is ■ » . (Assent being given, 

then to the bride ;) 

Your name, madam, is : — . (Assent being gi- 
ven, then to the bridegroom : ) 

Do you, sir, desire to take this woman to be your 
lawfu 1 wife ? (Assent being given, then to the bride :) 

Do you, madam, desire to take this man to be your 
i awful husband ? (Assent being given, then say :) 

When God made man, he saw that it was not good 
for him to be alone, and he gave him a help meet 
for him ; that help is woman. If there is any thing 
that belongs merely to this life, that is of more im- 
portance than another, it is the contract you are now 
about to form ; for on your wisely entering into it, and 
your faithfully discharging its duties, each to the other, 
will depend your future happiness through life. 

God, the great and gracious Author of our being, has 
encouraged us to look to him, and promised, that he 
will give wisdom, will give liberally, and not upbraid ; 
let us therefore pray : 

Almighty God, we adore thee, that thou hast made 
the throne of thy grace accessible to us, and that at all 



68 MARRIAGE CEREMONY. 

times, and in every place, we may approach thy divine 
presence in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour* 
We pray thee, that thou wouldst be pleased to look 
down upon us with thy wonted goodness, and especially 
upon thy servant and handmaid, who desire to be united 
in wedlock ; give them wisdom to discern, and grace 
to discharge, the duties that belong to the character of 
husband and of wife ; that they may be a blessing each 
to the other, and an example of connubial bliss to the 
circle in which they move. Unto thee, O God, would 
we ascribe the kingdom, power, and glory, for ever and 
ever. Amen. 

( Then addressing the bridegroom and bride ;) 

There are certain duties which belong to the charac- 
ter of husband and of wife, which we esteem it the duty 
of every Christian minister clearly to state, and to re- 
ceive from the parties entering into this holy union, 
their explicit declaration, that they will discharge these 
duties, each to the other, before such minister is justi- 
fied in joining their hands in the holy tie. 

( Then addressing the bridegroom ;) 

The duties which belong to the character of a hus- 
band are, that he shall love his wife ; that he will pro- 
vide for her according to the rank in life in which the 
providence of God is pleased to place him ; and that he 
will be faithful to her, in the character of her husband, 
as long as life shall last. 

Husbands, love your own wives as Christ loved the 
church, is the command of the religion we profess. 
The Christian husband will feel it his duty, at all times, 
to hazard all that is dear to him in life, and even life 
itself, for the welfare of his partner, 



MARRIAGE CEREMONY. 



69 



The duty of a man to provide for the family God is 
pleased to give him, is according to the law of nature, 
of all civilized society, and according to the law of 
Christ. According to the law of nature ; for the Author 
of our being has given to the husband that robust frame 
which enables him to discharge those active duties by 
which the wants of a family are provided for, and has 
denied this power to the female, in the delicacy of her 
sex. According to the law of all civilized society ; for 
we know of no place where man is civilized, and this 
duty is not required of him. 

I will not reason with you, sir, on the necessity of 
being faithful to this woman, in the character of her 
husband ; suffice it to say, that a thought contrary to 
purity, in this respect, would wound your own peace ; 
and the least appearance of evil would destroy the 
peace both of your partner and yourself ; I will, there- 
fore, only ask you, in the presence of God, and these 
his chosen witnesses, will you love this woman as your 
wife ? Will you provide for her according to the rank 
in life in which the providence of God is pleased to 
place you, and be faithful to her in the character of 
her husband, as long as life shall last? I wait your 
answer. 

(On receiving Ms assent, then address the bride:) 
Madam, The duties which belong to the character of 
the wife, are, that she shall love her husband ; that she 
shall be obedient unto him ; and be faithful to him in 
the character of his wife, as long as life shall last. You 
have given evidence of your love to this man, by saying 
that you desire to take him to be your lawful husband ; 
the best evidence you can give of the continuance of 



'70 



MARRIAGE CEREMONY. 



your love to him, is in the discharge of the duty of obe 
dience. This has sometimes excited the smile of the 
unthinking, but indeed it is of the unthinking only, for 
how can two walk together unless they be agreed! 
And when did two ever walk long together and not dif- 
fer in their judgment in some matter? It is therefore for 
the happiness of both that it be distinctly and well un- 
derstood, whose judgment shall direct where they cannot 
both think alike. And who is it the woman is called on 
to obey? The man who has pledged himself by the most 
sacred tie, to hazard all that is dear to him in life, and 
even life itself, for the welfare of his partner ; he will 
therefore never require this obedience of her, until he 
has used every power of his mind to show her, that what 
he so requires of her is as much for her happiness as for 
his own. The weman should also bear in memory that 
it would be most unreasonable that the husband should 
have no control over the actions of his wife, when in 
many things the law makes him accountable for her 
conduct. She should also bear in memory that she is 
never, under colour of this obedience, to do aught that 
is contrary to the principles of morality, or the law of 
the land in which she lives. 

I will not reason with you, madam, on the necessity 
of being faithful to this man in the character of his wife ; 
suffice it to say, that a thought contrary to purity, 
in this respect, would wound your own peace, and 
the least appearance of evil would destroy .the peace 
both of your partner and of yourself; I will, therefore, 
only ask you, in the presence of God, and these his 
chosen witnesses, will you love this man as your hus- 
Hband 1 be obedient t© him in that character, and faith- 



MARRIAGE CEREMONY. 



71 



ful to him in the character of his wife, as long as life 
shall last ? I wait your answer. 

(Assent being given, and addressing both, say :) 
You have declared your desire of entering into the 
holy bonds of matrimony ; you have heard the duties 
which belong to the character of husband and of wife ; 
you have pledged yourselves each to the other, for the 
discharge of these duties ; (direct the glove to be taken 
from the right hand of each, and then 'putting them each 
into the other, go on saying,) I therefore unite you to- 
gether, and declare you to be, no longer twain, but one, 
in the character of husband and of wife, in the name 
of God, your Creator, your Redeemer) and your Sancti- 
fier. ( The parties keeping their hands joined, go on and 
say :) 

My beloved brother and sister- — children of our com- 
mon parent, I entreat you, by all that is dear to you in 
life ; by all your desire of domestic happiness ; and by 
all your dread of domestic discord, that you bear in con- 
stant memory this one, this holy truth, that you are no 
longer twain, but one. This is not the dictate of hu- 
man wisdom ; much less is it human sophistry : it is 
the word of the ever-living and ever-loving God ; and 
just in proportion as you bear this truth in memory, and 
make it the rule of your conduct toward each other, so 
will you find the happiness which this institution of God, 
thus wisely entered into, and its duties thus faithfully 
discharged, will most assuredly give ; and just in pro- 
portion as you do not keep this truth in memory, nor 
make it the rule of your conduct, so will you find that 
your union is unblessed. 



72 



MARRIAGE CEREMONY, 



My Brother, the woman whose hand you hold, and 
who is now your wife, is, next to God, your best friend ; 
love and cherish her as such ; and if ever any third 
party should whisper in your ear a thought contrary to 
her honour, however well it may have been intended, 
consider it as ill judged ; receive it not for a moment, 
but reject it as the act of an enemy. 

My Sister, the man whose hand you hold, and who is 
now your husband, is, next to God, your best friend ; 
love and cherish him as such ; and if ever any third 
party should whisper in your ear a thought contrary 
to his honour, however well it may have been intended, 
consider it as ill judged ; receive it not for a moment, 
but reject it as the act of an enemy. 

That you may live in all the happiness which the 
marriage life is so well calculated to bestow, let us lift 
our hearts to God, and we trust, that he will hear, and 
answer, and bless us. 

In the sacred name of Jesus, the Lord and Saviour 
of the world, do we approach thy divine presence, 
O God our Father, who art in Heaven : We adore thee, 
that thou hast not only revealed thyself unto us as the Al- 
mighty Maker of heaven and of earth, but that we know 
thee as the Framer of our bodies, the Father of our spi- 
rits, and the Sanctifier of our souls : We bless thee 
that thou hast revealed thyself to us under the strong, 
endearing, and emphatic name of love ; and that this 
pure and holy spirit of love hath united the hearts of 
thy servant and handmaid ; and that they are no longer 
twain, but one. We pray that this holy flame may con. 
finue to burn bright and pure as long as life shall last ; 
that they may be a blessing to each other, and to all 



m 



q omission in the Marriage Ceremony was not per, 
ceived till the book was printed. After line 11, in 
page 69, the following should be introduced ; 

ccording to the law of Christ ; for we there find, that, 
if any provide not for his own, and specially for those 
"his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is woise 
an an infidel. " He is worse than an infidel ; for the 
fidel, not acknowledging the faith, cannot dishonour 
; but the man who calls himself a Christian, and neg* 
cts the discharge of this important duty, brings a re- 
'oach upon the holy name by the which he is called. 



MARRIAGE CEREMONY. 



73 



around them. And when thou hast served the purposes 
of thy grace with them here below, do thou receive 
them to the enjoyment of thy more immediate presence, 
where there is joy ; where angels and archangels, 
cherubim and seraphim, with the spirits of our believing 
departed brethren, surround thy throne in glory, day 
without night rejoicing ; where love, pure, ceaseless, 
and unbounded reigns : and s unto Thee, the King eternal, 
immortal, and invisible, the only wise God, be ascribed 
the kingdom, power, and glory, world without end. 
Amen. 



in 



Hi SHORT SERMOiNS, 
PREACHED BEFORE A SOCIETY, 

FOR IMPROVING I If 

CHURCH MUSIC , 



I 



A 



SHORT SERMONS. 



THE LORD OUR SHEPHERD. 



The Lord is my Shepherd. — (Psalm xxiii. 1.) 

Our high estimation of the Psalm from which this 
text is taken, and the heart- felt pleasure we have found 
in the contemplation of it, have induced us, once more, 
to bend our attention to the sacred text. 

First, then, if we ask, who is this Shepherd? the He- 
brew scholar will answer, by telling us, that it is Jeho- 
vah, and that it is well known, that through the Old 
Testament the word Lord, in capitals in our English 
translation, corresponds to Jehovah in the Hebrew. 

The Christian world generally, and we know no ex- 
ception to the rule, apply the character of shepherd in 
this psalm to the Lord Jesus Christ, and with great pro- 
priety ; for our Lord takes this character fully to him- 
self: (John x. 11 :) "I am the good Shepherd ; the 
good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep :" (and ver. 
14.) I am the good Shepherd, and know my sheep, and 
am known of mine : (and ver. 16.) And other sheep I 
have, which are not of this fold ; them also I must 
7 



78 



THE LORD OUR SHEPHERD. 



bring ; and they shall hear my voice ; and there shall 
be one fold, and one Shepherd. The prophet Isaiah, 
speaking of this Shepherd, says, (liii. 6.) All we, like 
sheep, have gone astray ; we have turned every one to 
his own way ; and the Lord hath laid on him the 
iniquity of us all. The prophet Zechariah (xiii. 7.) gives 
force to these sentiments, when he says, "Awake, 
O sword, against my Shepherd, and against the man that 
is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts ; smite the Shep- 
herd, and the sheep shall be scattered." 

Several things are observable from these divine tes- 
timonies : First. That this Shepherd is Jehovah. Se- 
cond. That Christ, our Emmanuel, who is God with us, 
(Mat. i. 23,) claims to be the true Shepherd. Third. 
That the human nature is the sheep of God, and all 
stray sheep. Fourth. That those who know, and fol- 
low Christ, are emphatically his flock ; but that those 
who do not thus know Christ, are to be brought into 
this knowledge, and thus the whole human race be one 
flock ; Christ the head and Shepherd of them all. 

The next thing we notice in our text is the confidence 
with which the psalmist expresses himself ; there is no- 
thing like hesitation or doubt, but rather of present en- 
joyment, and the assurance of future good. The whole 
residue of the psalm is the exhibition of results flowing 
from the fact, and the knowledge of the fact, that Jesus 
is the great, the true, the only divine Shepherd. But 
it will, perhaps, be said, that this was the privilege of 
David only. Such thought is a fatal error ; it is surely 
the privilege of every one who has David's faith ; and 
if we have his faith, and have not his enjoyment, then 
we live just so far beneath our privilege. 



THE LORD OUR SHEPHERD. 



79 



The first advantage we derive is security against po- 
verty : " The Lord is my Shepherd, 1 shall not want" 
And it is most reasonable for us to expect, that since 
Jehovah has taken upon him the character of our Shep- 
herd, he will discharge to each of his flock this first 
and most important duty ; but let us not suppose, that 
he will supply what we, in our weak, perverted judg- 
ment, desire, but what he, in his unerring mind, sees 
is good. And does not our own calm, deliberate judg- 
ment approve of this ? We prefer the judgment of our 
physician to our own ; and even in the meanest arts 
we have respect to the judgment of the artist ; shall 
we not then prefer the will of God to any thing that our 
fallible wisdom would desire ? Jesus has set us the di- 
vine example : not my will, but thine be done. And 
when our will is thus absorbed in the will of God, we 
know that what we have is what is best for us, and we 
receive what we ask for, because we ask in that humble 
faith, which prefers the will of God to our own, and thus 
the will of God is ours, even to the endurance of the sorest 
ills of life. We willingly submit to the will of the earthly 
physician, when he makes us sick, that he may the more 
effectually make us well ; so the good Physician, whose 
recipe never fails, says, (Rev. iii. 19,) " As many as I 
love I rebuke and chasten." Thus, then, what we feel 
as suffering, we know to be a blessing under the form 
of evil. This satisfied state is well represented to us 
in the second verse : " He maketh me to lie down in 
green pastures ;" or, as it is rendered in the margin, 
pastures of tender grass. Does the sheep ever lie down 
till it is satisfied with food ? Would it lie down in the 
pasture of tender grass if it had not fed to the full ? 
Such is the satisfaction of those who know Christ, and 



80 



THE LORD OC7R SHEPHERD, 



follow him ; he is to them all that they desire : their 
wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption* 

This divine Shepherd is represented as leading his 
flock beside the still waters, or waters of quietness., 
This is in accordance with the peace of God, which 
passeth all understanding, and which keeps the heart 
and mind through Christ Jesus. (Phil. iv. 7.) 

The next blessing enjoyed by the psalmist is the 
restoration, or conversion, of the soul ; these are nearly ? 
if not quite, synonymous terms. Jesus came to seek 
and to save that which was lost : he hath finished his 
work, and, consequently, restored. (Ps. xix. 7.) We 
are told, the law, or doctrine, of the Lord, or Jehovah f 
is perfect, converting, or restoring the soul : the testi- 
mony of the Lord, or Jehovah, is sure, making wise the 
simple. How precious is the wisdom of him who is 
taught of God, to see the way and the extent of salvation, 
the value of the blood which was shed for every man, 
(Heb. ii. 9,) and which cleanseth from all sin. (1 John 
i. 7.) Jesus, our Shepherd, is our guide, " he leadeth 
me in paths of righteousness, for his name's sake.' ? 
We not only acknowledge, but maintain the moral ten- 
dency of the grace of God ; for it teacheth us to live so- 
berly, righteously, and godly, in this present world, and 
thus ornaments the profession of faith which we make. 
(1 Peter iii. 4. Titus ii. 12. iii. 8.) But as respects 
our salvation, and its meritorious cause, it is the 
righteousness of Christ ; his righteousness being made 
ours by imputation, we are led into the knowledge of 
his righteous incarnation, life, death, resurrection, as- 
cension, and intercession. All this he did and suffered 
for us ; and the same divine love, which offered prayer 
for his murderers while hanging on the cross, is now 



THE LORD OUR SHEPHERD. 



81 



employed as our advocate with God ; and all this for 
his name's sake. And why for his name's sake ? When 
we consider what is the import of his name ; that Jesua 
imports Saviour, and was given because he should save 
his people from their sins, is it not for the honour of his 
name, as Saviour, that his people (and all souls are 
his) should then be led in the paths of righteousness? 

The next advantage we have is in the knowledge 
of the victory we have over death, through our Lord 
Jesus Christ. (1 Cor. xv. 57.) " Yea, though I walk 
through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear 
no evil." There is a natural attachment to life, which 
the Author of our being has fixed in us for wise and 
good purposes, and this may appear to imply the fear 
of death, or, rather, of dying ; but the believer who is 
weak in faith, may be subject to fear of bodily pain in 
dying, when he has no fear of being dead, or of future 
spiritual death ; and such in their last moments are 
usually raised above all fear of physical suffering. The 
usual recitation of this passage is " the dark valley." 
There is a beautiful correction of this error in the tract 
called the Dairyman's Daughter. Listen to the con- 
versation between the clergyman and the dying saint, 
as represented by L. Richmond : " At length I said 
to Elizabeth, Do you experience any doubts or tempta- 
tions on the subject of your eternal safety ?" 

" No, sir ; the Lord deals very gently with me 5 and 
gives me peace." 

" What are your views of the dark valley of death, 
now that you are passing through it ?" 

" It is not dark." 

-Why so?" 

7* 



82 



THE LORD OUR SHEPHERD. 



u My Lord is there, and he is my light, and my sal- 
vation." 

" Have you any fears of more bodily sufferings ? 
" The Lord deals so gently with me ; I can trust 
him." 

" Something of a convulsion came on. When it was 
past, she said, again and again, The Lord deals very 
gently with me. Lord, I am thine — save me — blessed 
Jesus — precious Saviour— His blood cleanseth from all 
sin — who shall separate ? — His name is wonderful — ■ 
thanks be to God — he giveth us the victory — I, even 
I, am saved. — O, grace, mercy, and wonder— Lord ? 
receive my spirit ! — Dear sir — dear father, mother* 
friends, I am going — but all is well, well, well. She 
relapsed again. We knelt down to prayer. The Lord 
was in the midst of us, and blessed us. 

" She did not again revive while I remained, nor ever 
speak any more words which could be understood. She 
slumbered for about ten hours, and at last sweetly fell 
asleep in the arms of that Lord who had dealt so gently 
with her. 

" I left the house an hour after she had ceased to 
speak. I pressed her hand as I was taking leave, and 
said, 6 Christ is the resurrection and the life.' She gen- 
tly returned the pressure, but could neither open her 
eyes, nor utter a reply. 

" I never had witnessed a scene so impressive as this 
before. It completely filled my imagination, as I re- 
turned home. 

" Farew T ell, thought I, dear friend, till the morning 
of an eternal day shall renew our personal inter- 
course. 



THE LORD OUR SHEPHERD. 



83 



" Thou wast a brand plucked from the burning, that 
thou mightest become a star shining in the firmament of 
glory. I have seen thy light and thy good works, and 
will therefore glorify our Father which is in heaven. I 
have seen, in thy example, what it is to be a sinner freely 
saved by grace. I have learned from thee, as in a 
living mirror, who it is that begins, continues, and ends 
the work of faith and love. Jesus is all in all : he will and 
shall be glorified. He won the crown, and alone de- 
serves to wear it. May no one attempt to rob him of 
his glory ! He saves, and saves to the uttermost. 
Farewell, dear sister in the Lord. Thy flesh and thy 
heart may fail ; but God is the strength of thy heart, 
and shall be thy portion for ever." 

In the death of the dairyman's daughter, we see the 
power of faith, overcoming the fear of death, even in 
the bosom of a timid female. The psalmist gives the 
true reason of this power, viz : a sense of the presence 
of God; " for thou art with me." How strange that 
men should ever be afraid of that power, which alone 
can give a victory over death. The sense of the di- 
vine presence, knowing his character, gives joy ; and 
this is the reason assigned in the text. " Thy rod and 
thy staff they comfort me." The rod is the emblem of 
power, and the staff is the crosier staff of the Shepherd 
with which he draws the wanderer into the flock, and is 
emblematic of his love ; but we may be asked, if there is 
such victory over death, what comfort can be necessary 
to the believer ? We answer, that our faith as Chris- 
tians does not destroy the innocent sympathies of na- 
ture, and that being under their influence, the knowledge 



84 



THE LORD OUR SHEPHERD. 



of the power and love of God is the source of support 
and comfort. 

Our Shepherd takes care that we shall not want, by- 
verse 5 : Thou preparest a table before me in the pre- 
sence of mine enemies : thou anointest my head with oil ; 
my cup runneth oven 

Is not this table the communion table of our Lord ? 
the feast of fat things spoken of by Isaiah, (xxv. 6,) 
of wines on the lees well refined, and this made by the 
Lord of hosts unto all people ? Do we not here spiritu- 
ally eat the flesh which is meat indeed, and receive the 
blood which is drink indeed ? In what sense is this in 
the presence of my enemies 1 Our sins are our greatest 
foes, but here is the atoning sacrifice made for the re- 
mission of sins. It was on festive occasions that the 
head was anointed ; and the cup of the Christian runs 
over with joy when he considers that he that spared not 
his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall 
he not with him also freely give us all things ; (Rom. viii. 
32 ;) and can the unchangeable God, who thus freely 
gives, take away any thing that would have been good 
to have continued longer with us? Surely, no ! Men 
talk of the feast of reason, and the flow of soul ; but 
here is the feast of divine wisdom, and the flow of the 
love which God alone can show, inasmuch as while 
we were yet enemies, Christ died for us. 

The psalmists confidence in the good Shepherd is 
expressed in the last verse of this psalm, (v. 6.) 
" Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the 
days of my life : and I will dwell in the house of the 
Lord for ever." The goodness of God is manifested 
by his unremitting: supply of all our wants ; and his 



THE LORD OUR SHEPHERD, 



85 



mercy, (which is the relief of the miserable,) by making 
the evil, as well as the good, work together for our good 
and his glory. But where is the house of him of whom 
heaven is but his throne, and the earth his footstool ; (Is. 
ixvi. 1;) yet he whom the heaven of heavens cannot con- 
tain, (1 Kings viii. 27,) condescends to permit a house to 
be built to his name, and he claims it as his own ; and 
under the Christian dispensation, where two or three are 
met together in the name of Jesus, there is the presence 
of God the Saviour ; and though there be no earthly 
building or enclosure, is not the place the house of 
God 1 Jacob, after his night vision, called the place the 
house of God, the gate of heaven ; and, dedicating the 
place which had been called Luz, gave it a new name, 
called it Bethel, a name signifying the House of God. 
How true is it that " where thou (God) art is heaven." 
The most spiritual understanding of dwelling in the 
house of the Lord is to live in the light of his counte- 
nance, the joys of his salvation. This enjoyment is 
said to-be " for ever ;" and the tempter may say, is not 
"this for ever length of days merely ? Jesus gives us the 
answer : Let not your hearts be troubled : ye believe 
in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are 
many mansions : if it were not so, I would have told 
you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and 
prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive 
you unto myself; that where I am there ye may be 
also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye 
know. (John xiv. 1 — 4.) 



PEACE BY CHRIST, 



It pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell. And 
having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to re- 
concile all things unto himself ; by him, / say, whether they be 
things in earth, or things in heaven. — (Col. i. 19, 20.) 

While some men represent the Supreme Being as 
having settled the endless misery of some, the endless 
felicity of others, irrespective of the merits or demerits 
of the one or the other, but every human being inclu- 
ded in the bliss or misery, there are others who repre- 
ent the Almighty as leaving every man to become the 
framer of his own future state, whether of boundless 
bliss or misery. 

We object to both these schemes. The first is alto- 
gether unlike him whose ways are equal ; and no man 
can have the assurance of the understanding, whether 
he is bound for bliss or misery; he may vacillate be- 
tween hope and fear, but certainty, we think, he never 
can arrive at. The latter scheme is quite as objectiona- 
ble, for it represents the Maker of mankind as having so 
little interest in the fate of the being whom he had 
made, that by possibility, every man taking the unwise 



®8 



PEACE BY CHRIST. 



course, the effect might be that not one of the children 
of men would ever arrive at felicity. 

The first is the philosophic doctrine of fate, the last 
the doctrine of free will ; neither of them supported by 
Scripture, but both of them corrupting the simplicity of 
the Gospel of Christ. How happy, then, is it for us, 
that we have the pure word of God before us, and the 
perfect liberty of searching to know what is the will of 
God concerning us, and that when we have found it, 
we may rejoice together in it, for it is good, only good ? 
and good continually. 

We think it will be acknowledged by all, that the salva- 
tion of the soul is the subject of the text ; and we think, 
that the first sentiment expressed here, indicates the in- 
terest which God takes in our happiness. " It pleased 
the Father ;" it was not a matter of indifference but of 
interest. It pleased the Father that in Jesus, the Son of 
God, all fulness should dwell. Now let it be carefully 
remembered, that the fulness of any thing is all that it 
can contain ; and if we are asked, what is the quality of 
that fulness, we answer, the divine and human nature. 
For proof of the divinity of Christ, we have before us 
the assurance (Col. ii. 9.) that, "in him dwelleth all the 
fulness of the Godhead bodily ;" and we may be permit- 
ted here to ask, what can be correctly attributed to 
Deity, that is not in the fulness of the Godhead ? The 
language is yet stronger : it is all the fulness of the 
Godhead bodily ; and why bodily, if not to show the 
Union of the human and divine nature, in the person of 
the Redeemer? This doctrine of union, is also seen in 
the connexion between Christ and his redeemed. 
Christ is the head of every man; (1 Cor. xi. 3;) we 



PEACE BY CHRIST. 



89 



are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones ; 
(Eph. v. 30 ;) we are complete in him. (Col ii. 10.) 

The next subject which our text presents, is the 
peace which is made for us by our Redeemer ; the text 
reads, " having made," in the past tense ; the margin 
reads " making peace," implying a progressive work. 
They are both true, and we will look at this subject in 
both ways. 

First, as a finished salvation. " Having made peace. 5 
We find the Saviour, in the near prospect of his suffer- 
ing, offering up a divine prayer, in which he says : "I 
have finished the work which thou gavest me to do ; 
(John xvii. 4 ;) and when hanging on the cross, that the 
Scripture might be ^fulfilled, he said, I thirst, received the 
vinegar, said, It is finished, bowed his head, and gave 
up the ghost. "(John xix. [28, 29.) A beautiful 
view of the will of God respecting us, and of this being a 
finished salvation, is given in the epistle to the Hebrews, 
where the apostle says : " By the which will, we are 
sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus 
Christ, once for all." (Heb. x. 10.) 

Second, as a progressive salvation. " Making peace." 
The finished salvation is the groundwork of the pro- 
gressive ; it is in perfect accordance with, if it be not 
the very essence of the Gospel. The distinguished apos 
tie to the Gentiles, says, we preach Christ crucified ; 
(1 Cor. i. 23 ;) and wherever this crucified Saviour 
was believed in, there was peace, for, " we which have 
believed, do enter into rest." (Heb. iv. 3.) This 
preaching of the Gospel of the cross, is the progressive 
work, the " making of peace ;" and this work shall go 
on, till the Jew shall be brought in with the fulness oi 

8 



90 PEACE BY CHRIST. 

the Gentiles. (Rom. xi. 25.) It may be asked, how 
can he who is at enmity against God be considered as 
having his peace made with God ? We answer ; his 
unbelief is the cause of his enmity; he knows not the 
peace which God hath made by the blood of the cross ; 
but rather thinks God his enemy, and would rather 
destroy than be destroyed. 

This subject maybe illustrated by the supposition of 
a case which, in its leading features, has taken place in 
our own day. Two distant nations are at war ; but war 
cannot last for ever, and at length peace is made. Some 
portion of the fleets and armies of the belligerents are far 
distant from the scene of negotiation, and do not know 
of peace ; they think of nothing but what each thinks 
his duty to take, sink, burn, and destroy ; they are enga- 
ged in the dreadful conflict, each thinking it his duty by 
all means to seek the destruction of the other ; but 
while the work of death is thus going terribly on, a flag 
is seen in the distance, the angel of peace appears, and 
the arm that was lifted to give the blow of death, falls 
harmless, and the hand which he thought to imbrue in 
the blood of his fellow, and for which he hoped to obtain 
the shout of applause and the crown of the victor, is 
now reached out to bind up the wound it had itself in- 
flicted ; and each is desirous of showing to the other, by 
the reciprocity of good offices, that though enemies in 
war, they are in peace friends. But the peace was 
made while they were at war ; the moment the treaty 
was signed, there was national peace and friendship ; 
the nations of these contending parties were at peace 
while they were in the conflict of battle ; nay, they were 
themselves included in the nation's peace, while they 



PEACE BY CHRIST* 



91 



were personally engaged seeking each other's death. 
How strange, that what but a moment before was an act 
of heroism, to be honoured and rewarded, would now be 
considered murder, and not to be atoned for, but by the 
death of the offender ! And how is this peace, so great 
and so sudden, made ? The answer is easy, it is simply 
by faith ; these opponents had the message of a finished 
peace placed before them ; they knew the authority by 
which it was made ; they knew the messengers who 
brought the good news ; they had the conviction of the 
understanding, that their nations were at peace, while 
they themselves were at war ; and that their conflict 
was continued by their ignorance, and that their present 
enjoyment of peace and rest, is the consequence of 
that peace which was made while they were thus enga- 
ged in war. 

The Christian has also believed, and thus entered 
into rest. The next subject presented to us, is the 
means by which this peace was made, and that is, 
" through the blood of his cross." To the mind that 
does not receive the Scripture as the authority of God, 
difficulties may appear ; but to us who have no doubt but 
that God speaks to us through the apostle, it is enough 
when we have, thus saith the Lord. The consideration 
that this is the way which the wisdom of God was pleas- 
ed to appoint, gives us the perfect assurance that it is 
the way most likely of all others to effect its desired ob- 
ject ; nay, because he cannot be mistaken, it must and 
will effect its purpose ; the offering of Christ once for 
all, is the continual theme of prophecy, and the burden 
of the song with the apostles ; they know no other name 
under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be 



92 



PEACE BY CHRIST* 



saved; (Acts iv. 12 ;) but the minute operation of this 
cause, to produce this effect, is what we do not pretend 
to know, nor are we bound to answer ; but we are bound 
to believe God on his Word ; and he has said, that the 
peace is made, and made by this blood. 

And yet there is a fact, known to every Christian 
who is not merely nominally so, that has some tenden- 
cy to throw light on the influence of the death of Christ. 

The man who believes that the death of Christ was 
necessary to his salvation, that the sin of man created 
this necessity, and that he is himself a sinner ; when 
his mind looks to Calvary, he sees the Son of God, 
humbling himself to the shameful and painful death of 
the cross, and feels that all this is endured for him, his 
heart exclaims, " my Lord and my God ;" and, know- 
ing that God freely gave up his Son for us all, he sees 
the reasonableness of the apostolic conclusion, that 
with him God freely gives us all things ; (Rom. viii. 32 ;) 
and in conformity with the same spirit, he knows the 
power which gives all, and gives freely, will never take 
away aught that would have been good longer to enjoy. 
Is this man reconciled to God? His understanding 
tells him he has cause only for gratitude and praise ; 
and instead of his being simply reconciled to God, his 
wonder is, can the God of infinite moral purity be re- 
conciled to him ? Thus the subject of reconciliation is 
brought before us, and the question may be asked with 
earnest honesty : will God in very deed be reconciled 
to such a polluted sinful creature as man is? If by this 
is meant, will God be reconciled to the sin of man, we 
answer, it is impossible, for he is of purer eyes than to 
behold evil, and cannot look on iniquity. (Hab. i. 13.) 



FEACE BY CHRIST. 



93 



He is the sinner's friend, but the enemy of sin. Were 
God the friend of sin, he would be the enemy of man ; 
for sin is the destroyer of the happiness of man. All sin 
is the work of the devil, and for this purpose was the 
Son of God manifested, that he might destroy the works 
of the devil. (1 Jchn iii. 8. ) Who then can suppose 
that the pure God will be reconciled to sin ? Who, but 
a madman ever advocated such a sentiment ? Far be 
it from us. 

The reconciliation spoken of in our text, is not that 
of God to sin, a thing impossible, nor even of God to 
man, at least so far as that it might imply that he ever 
was the enemy of man ; no, it is the reconciliation of 
man to God ; of man, the offender, seeking death in 
the error of his ways, to God, the giver and sustainer 
of life, and God himself the reconciler. Well may it 
be said of him, that as the heavens are higher than the 
earth, so are his ways and thoughts higher than ours, 
(Is. Iv. 9.) This reconciliation is the same as the ce* 
lebrated doctrine of atonement. To atone is derived 
from at one, as the etymologists remark, to be at one, is 
the same as to be in concord; to reconcile, is to 
make to like again — to make to be liked again— to 
make any thing consistent — to restore to favour.* 
Where is the difference, if any, between reconciliation 
and atonement ? 

We will now inquire, what is the extent of this recon- 
ciliation, or atonement ? and we think we are perfectly 
safe in saying it is for all mankind ; first, because all 
mankind stand in need of it ; second, because no man 
is excluded from it in the text ; third, because it is 



Johnson. 
8* 



94 



PEACE BY CHRIST. 



asserted in the text, that God, by Christ, will reconcile 
all things to himself. 

We may, perhaps, be told, that all does not necessa- 
rily mean every one. We know this ; but we beg that 
it may be considered, that it is the efficacy of the atone- 
ment, by the sacrifice of Christ, that is the subject of 
arnr text. And when we find God spoken of as the 
Saviour of all men, as well as specially of them that 
believe ; (1 Tim. iv. 10 ;) when we see Jesus, by the 
grace of God, tasting death for every man, (Heb. ii. 9,) 
these two quotations, though taken from different parts, 
are not in opposition, but in concord ; both refer to the 
great sacrifice alluded to in our text; and if both are 
in concord, then is God the Saviour of all and every 
man ; and a stronger mode of expression we can 
hardly conceive, to express the whole, without the ex- 
ception of any, than all and every. Our understand- 
ing of the extent of the reconciliation is supported by 
the manner our text closes ; thus, " By him, I say, whe- 
ther they be things in earth, or things in heaven." What 
are we to understand by things in heaven ? is it not the 
spirits of just, or justified men made perfect f* (Heb. 
xii, 23.) And what by things on earth but those who 
are yet in the body, and need the application, by faith, 
of that blood which cleanseth from all sin ? We have 
examined our text somewhat minutely, though briefly, 
and what is the result ? 

First That God takes pleasure in the salvation of 
man ; that it is not a matter of indifference with him. 

Second. That man is not so free, that he can ulti- 
mately prevent God from accomplishing his gracious 



* Doddridge. 



PEACE BY CHRIST. 



95 



purpose ; nor so bound, but that he is reasonably ac- 
countable to God for his actions. 

Third. That there is a finished and a progressive 
salvation : the first, by the death of Christ ; for we ut- 
terly disclaim every way that would impair this, all the 
philosophy of men that would tend to make unnecessa- 
ry this only way which God hath appointed, and all that 
negative divinity that -rests in the rejection of error, in- 
stead of the belief of the truth. And we see the pro- 
gressive salvation, in the spread of the Gospel, and tha 
peace and joy of the believer. 

Fourth. The divine assurance, that God is the Sa- 
viour of all and every man. 

How delightfully will this work of God be accom- 
plished before our admiring eyes, when the vision of 
John shall be perfected, " and every creature which is 
in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and 
such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, 
heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and 
power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and 
unto the Lamb, for ever and ever. (Rev. v. 13.) 

When the creation is restor'd, 
And God shall be by all ador'd, 
How loudly will the triumph swell, 
Our Jesus hath done all things well ! 

Sin, death, and hell, will Christ destroy, 
And fill the universe with joy ; 
His love shall then each voice compel 
To cry, " He hath done all things well." 

All creatures then as one shall join, 

To shout aloud his praise divine ! 

(As sacred prophecies foretell,) 

And say, " He hath done all things well." 



Of* 



THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 



Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. 
He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved j but he that believeth 
not, shall be damned. (Mark xvi. 15, 16.) 

We ought not to be surprised, that men are now so 
slow to believe the truths of the Gospel ; for the apos- 
tles themselves, who had been eye and ear witnesses of 
the heavenly wisdom and almighty power of their divine 
Master, did not readily believe the fact of his resurrec- 
tion. Listen to the language of our Lord on this sub- 
ject ; mark how plain it is, and how difficult it is to un- 
derstand it in any other way than according to its lite- 
ral import, and its literal fulfilment. (Mark xvi. 14.) 

Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disci- 
ples apart in the way, and said unto them, Behold, we 
go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man shall be be- 
trayed unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes, and 
they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him 
to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify 
him : and the third day he shall arise again. (Mat. xx. 
17, 18, 19.) If we are asked, what could possibly be 
the reason, why it was, that with such plain assurance 
from their Lord, of his death and resurrection, they did 



98 



THH GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 



not believe the report of those that had seen him after 
he was risen ? We answer, their conceptions of the 
Messiah's character were so sensual, that even at the 
time when our Lord was instituting the observance of 
the supper, in memory of himself, and his atoning sa- 
crifice, there was a strife among them, which of them 
should be accounted the greatest. (Luke xxii. 24.) Nor 
even after his resurrection, when they were convinced 
of the fact by ocular demonstration and personal inter- 
course, were they entirely free from this spirit ; for we 
find them, even then, asking him, Lord, wilt thou at this 
time restore again the kingdom to Israel ? (Acts i. 6.) 

Was not the restoration which they then looked for, a 
freedom from the Roman yoke, and the establishment of 
national independence ? It was only after the place of Ju- 
das was filled by the election of Matthias, and the gift of 
the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost, that this delu- 
sion was entirely done away, and all things brought to 
their remembrance, according to the promise of the Sa- 
viour, (John xiv. 26,) and the first apostolic sermon 
preached by the zealous Peter. 

What a lesson of humility does this picture of the 
apostles teach us ! What are we better than they were 
before they received knowledge and power from on 
high ? Are not we sensual ? Do not the things of time 
and sense occupy too much of our attention, and divert 
us from one thing needful above all others, even the 
knowledge of our God and his Christ, in the knowledge 
of whom is found the enjoyment of eternal life ? (John 
xvii. 3.) If conscience is permitted to act, we will lay our 
hands on our mouths, and our mouths in the dust, and 
with humility listen to what God the Lord hath to say 



THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 99 



concerning us. It is remarkable, that the verse imme- 
diately preceding our text tells us, that our Lord appear- 
ed unto the eleven, as they sat at meat, and upbraided 
them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because 
they believed not them which had seen him after he 
was risen. This hardness of heart in the apostles 
proves, that God does not choose his messengers for 
their excellence, but that he will send by whom he will. 
(Ex. iv. 13.) And does it not raise in our minds the 
inquiry, whether this hardness of heart did not blind 
the understanding, and whether the blindness of the 
mind does not tend to increase the hardness of the 
heart ? O, then, let us ask of God, that we might see 
him as he is ; and that we might see ourselves as we 
are seen of him. 

With this humble fear, and pious desire, let us ap- 
proach to the words of our text. 

The language of our text is imperative — go. And 
where the direct appointment, or the providence of God, 
makes it a duty, man must not hesitate. Such was the 
sentiment of Paul, when he said, though I preach the 
Gospel, I have nothing to glory of : for necessity is laid 
upon me, yea, wo is unto me, if I preach not the Gos- 
pel. (1 Cor. ix. 16.) This text appears to be the com- 
mission of the apostles ; and the missionary zeal of the 
present day appears to accord with the extent of the 
field of action, stated in the text, " all the world," and 
" every creature." What language could be used that 
would more perfectly include the whole, without the 
exception of any, than all and every ? Is it not reason 
able for us to conclude, that he who sent the message 
considered those to whom he sent it as interested m U ; 



100 THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 



and that they should be ultimately led into the enjoy- 
ment of the blessings it contains 1 if not, why send it to 
them ? And when we observe, that it is to be preached, 
or proclaimed, we are sure it is of no private interpreta- 
tion ; and the publicity thus required to be given to it, is 
an evidence that it fears not, but invites investigation. 
How different from the mysteries of the heathen, where 
the few only were initiated, and the multitude obliged|to 
bow to their sovereign dictate ! Here it is required that 
every creature be instructed. 

If we inquire, what is this Gospel, that is of so exten- 
sive interest, that every creature is interested in it ? 
We shall probably be told that it is good news, that the 
word means this : and we receive this interpretation 
with pleasure. If we inquire further, what is the news? 
we may be answered, that it is found in the language 
of the angel to the shepherds, that it is "good tidings 
of great joy, which shall be to all people ; for unto you 
is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour, which is 
Christ the Lord." (Luke ii. 10, 11.) Our hope of the 
nature, extent, and accomplishment of this divine com- 
munication, is strengthened by the heavenly glory 
which accompanied and followed its delivery ; for the 
glory of the Lord shone round about the shepherds ; 
(ver. 9 ;) and as soon as the angel had delivered his mes- 
sage " suddenly there was with the angel a multitude 
of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, glory to 
God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will to- 
ward men." (ver. 13, 14.) 

We have seen that the Gospel communicated by the 
angel to the shepherds, was the birth of the " Saviour, 
who is Christ the Lord ;" and it is our duty to inquire 



THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 101 



into the import of this divine character. And first, we 
think, it is a perfect absurdity to think of a Saviour 
where there is no impending evil, which (without the 
interference of that Saviour) we would have been sub- 
jected to ; we, therefore, reject all the miscalled divinity, 
which does not receive this Saviour as the ground of 
hope. And if we are told that he is our Saviour by pre- 
cept and example, though we acknowledge an inex- 
pressible value in each of these, while we are willing to 
say that he was wisdom and virtue personified, we are 
not willing to say that by our imitation of these, we 
can blot out our sins ; much less are we able to pur- 
chase, by such imitation, a title to the endless joys of 
heaven. 

This Jesus the Saviour, is Christ the Lord, and we 
think it our duty to inquire into the character of the 
Saviour as Christ. The word signifies anointed, and is 
borrowed from the Jewish economy, under which their 
priests and kings were anointed with a holy anointing 
oil, prepared by the command of God ; and they were 
thus inducted into the offices they were to sustain : the 
prophets of God were anointed with the Spirit of God. 
Professing Christians, of various and opposing senti- 
ments, have so generally agreed to acknowledge Jesus 
as Prophet, Priest, and King, that we do not consider 
it necessary to prove the fact ; but rather to inquire 
what we are to understand by the application of these 
words to Christ. And first, we take leave to observe, 
that we consider the word as the official name of the 
Saviour, and that it is by his being the Christ of God, 
that he is the Saviour of the world ; in other words, by 



9 



102 THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE, 

his being Prophet, Priest, and King. Let us then con- 
sider Christ as a Prophet. 

Those who, under the influence of the Divine Spirit, 
foretell events to come, are acknowledged as prophets ; 
but this does not prevent them from discharging other 
and very important duties. They are instructers, and 
that public instructers. Instructers in religion were call- 
ed prophets, we find from the first epistle to the 
Corinthians, which desires that they would follow after 
charity and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye 
may prophesy, (xiv. 1.) And he that prophesieth ? 
speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and 
comfort, (ver. 3.) And, still continuing the subject of 
the superiority of the prophesying over the gift of 
tongues, Paul says, I thank my God, I speak with 
tongues more than ye all : yet in the church I had rather 
speak five words with my understanding, that by my 
voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words 
in an unknown tongue, (ver. 18, 19.) Christ, as a 
prophet, whether he foretells events, or gives moral or 
prudential instruction, is superior to all who went before 
him. In foretelling the sacrifice of himself, his resur- 
rection from the dead, the perils and sufferings of his 
followers, the destruction of Jerusalem, and his second 
advent in glory, who is like him? Moses, compared 
with him, is but a servant in the house of God, while he 
is represented as^the Son. (Heb. iii. 5, 6.) And he is great- 
er than Solomon in all the glory of his wisdom. (Mat. xii. 
42.) Christ, as a prophet, not only foretold the most as- 
tonishing events, which we know to have been fulfilled 
in part, and, therefore, reasonably look for the fulfil- 
ment of the remainder ; but, as an instructer in morals 



THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 



103 



and theology, who is like unto him ? In morals, he has 
obtained the praise, even of the deistical philosopher ; 
and in theology, it is his spirit, speaking in his sent ser- 
vants, that gives value to their teaching. 

As a teacher of morals, he stripped the pure law of 
God of the false glosses by which the Jewish rabbis 
had obscured and made it void. His teaching required 
purity in the inward parts, that to look with unlawful 
desire, was to commit the offence in the heart. (Mat. 
v. 28.) He proved to the Pharisees, that by their tradi- 
tion they had made the commandment of God of none 
effect. (Mat. xv. 6.) Our Lord's first public appear- 
ance gave promise of his future greatness ; for when 
he was but twelve years of age ? he, being with his parents 
at Jerusalem, was separated, from them ; and when they 
found him, it was in the temple, sitting in the midst of 
the doctors, both hearing them and asking them Ques- 
tions : and all that heard him were astonished at his 
understanding and answers. (Luke ii. 46, 47.) And 
after he had entered on his public ministry, being at 
Capernaum, on the Sabbath day, he entered into the 
synagogue and taught : and they were astonished at 
his doctrine ; for he taught them as one that had au- 
thority, and not as the scribes. (Mark i. 22.) And 
on another occasion we find him in the temple teaching ; 
and the Jews marvelled, saying, how knoweth this man 
letters, having never learned! (John vii. 14, 15.) 
The people at length began to acknowledge the evi- 
dences that Jesus was the Christ ; and many of them 
said, " when Christ cometh will he do more miracles 
than these which this man hath done ?" The Pharisees 
heard that the people murmured such things concerning 



104 THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 



him : and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officer® 
to take him. They went on their unholy errand ; but no 
doubt they were convinced by the divine wisdom of 
Jesus, for they returned to those who sent them ; and, 
being asked, " Why have ye not brought him ?" they 
answered, Never man spake Jike this man. (John vii. 
31, 32. 45, 46.) 

Of the theology which Jesus, as the prophet of God, 
taught, we shall at present notice but one principle ; 
and to the untaught, certainly, a very strange one ; 
that is, that he was himself the bread of life, that came 
down from heaven ; that he would give this bread (his 
flesh) for the life of the world ; and when the Jews won- 
dered how this could be, he said, except ye eat the flesh 
of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life 
in ye. Nor was it the unbeliever, or hesitating follower, 
to whom this was a difficulty ; but many of his disciples, 
when they heard this, said, this is a hard saying, who 
can hear it ? Nor does the condescension of our Lord, in 
showing them that what he had said was to be spiritu- 
ally understood, remove the difficulty, for we are in- 
formed that from that time many of his disciples went 
back, and walked no more with him. (John vi. 32 — 60.) 
And, indeed, we do not see any way in which the diffi- 
culty can now be removed, but by faith in the efficacy 
of that atonement which Christ did make, when, on 
Calvary, he gave his flesh for the life of the world. 

We have said that the prophets of God were anointed 
with the Spirit of God, and we will close this part of our 
subject by an inquiry how far this rule will apply to the 
Saviour of men. The prophet Isaiah says : the Spirit 
of the Lord God is upon me ; because the Lord hath 



i'HE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 



105 



anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek ; he 
hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim 
liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to 
them that are bound, to proclaim the acceptable year of 
the Lord. 

Our Lord, being in Nazareth, on the Sabbath day, 
went into the synagogue and stood up to read. The book 
of Isaiah was handed to him he read ; the passage we 
have quoted, and immediately applied to himself, say- 
ing, "this day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears." 
And all bear witness and wondered at the gracious 
words which proceeded out of his mouth. (Luke iv. 
16 — 22.) Thus do we find him claiming for himself 
the character of Christ, Anointed, or Messiah. The 
same prophet, Isaiah, again speaking of him, says : " the 
Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him ; the spirit of wis- 
dom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might ; 
the spirit of knowledge, and of the fear of the Lord." 
(Is. xi. 2.) These are the glories of the Spirit which 
rested on him ; but one thing remains on this subject 
to inquire into ; and that is, in what degree had he the 
anointing Spirit of God? John the Baptist, drawing a 
contrast between himself and Christ, says of him : " he 
that cometh from heaven, is above all : he whom God 
hath sent, speaketh the words of God : for God giveth 
not the Spirit by measure unto him." (John iii. 31 — 34.) 
What is without measure, must be infinite, and what 
Spirit is infinite but the Holy Ghost ! Had Jesus the 
Holy Spirit without measure ? He had ! Then all the 
prophets of God, who ever appeared on earth, were but 
as streams from the infinite fountain ; Jesus is himself 



106 



THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 



the boundless ocean. This may to some appear strange ; 
but it accords well with the fact, that in bim dwelleth all 
the fulness of the Godhead, bodily. (Col. ii. 9.) 
We defer what remains till our next meeting. 



THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 
(continued.) 



Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every crea- 
ture. He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved ; but he 
that believeth not, shall be damned. — (Mark xvi. 15, 16.) 

In our former consideration of the subject before us, 
we found that Jesus becomes our Saviour, by assuming 
the distinctive characters of Prophet, Priest, and King. 
We have seen him as the divine instructer ; let us now 
behold him in the equally important character of the 
" High Priest of our profession." If we receive the 
Scriptures as the word of God, there can be no doubt 
of his sustaining this character ; for it is distinctly given 
to him by the apostle to the Gentiles. (Heb. iii. 1.) 
Much might here be said of the privileges and duties of 
the priest under the Mosaic economy; we pass over 
them, to the all important doctrine of the annual atone- 
ment made for all the sins of all the people. To some, 
it may appear that our view of the extent of the atone- 
ment is too large ; then hear the Scripture speaking of 
the priest. " He shall make an atonement for the holy 
sanctuary ; and he shall make an atonement for the ta- 
bernacle of the congregation, and for the altar ; and he 
shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the 



108 THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 

people of the congregation : and this shall be an ever- 
lasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the 
children of Israel, for all their sins, once a year. (Lev. 
xvi. 33, 34.) 

The ornaments on the official garments of the priest, 
appear to us indicative of the above sentiment ; for on 
his heart he wore a breastplate of twelve precious 
stones, each having the name of one of the tribes of 
Israel engraven on it ; on his shoulders, he wore two 
onyx stones, each having the names of six of the tribes 
of Israel engraven on it, the whole set in gold, and 
ornamented with the richest embroidery ; on the head 
he wore a mitre, and in its front a plate of pure gold ? 
and engraven with the sacred words, holiness to the 
lord. (Ex. xxiii.) The whole of his garments corres- 
ponded, for they were made for glory, and for beauty. 
And was it only to attract the gaze of an unthinking 
multitude, that all this beauty and glory was displayed ? 
A holier purpose must be ascribed to God. The high 
priest was but a type of Christ ; and surely we may, 
without being justly chargeable with enthusiasm, con- 
sider these ornaments as intimating the divine virtues 
of our Lord and Master. By the omnipotence of his 
power, he bears the people, all his people, into the ho- 
liest of all. The breastplate worn on his heart, had the 
names of all the tribes engraven there ; for the head 
was reserved holiness to the Lord ; yet, if one member 
suffer, all the members suffer with it, or one member be 
honoured, all the members rejoice with it. (1 Cor.xii. 26.) 
The honour is conferred on all by union with the head. 
Let us not think that these blessings are for a favourite 
people only. Is our God the God of the Jews only ? Is he 



THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 109 

not also of the Gentiles ? Yes, of the Gentiles also. 
(Rom. iii. 29.) The middle wall of partition is broken 
down. (Eph. ii. 14.) Let not those who think them- 
selves emphatically united to Christ by faith, look down 
on those who yet have not their hope ; rather let them look 
within, and know that their best performances require 
the blood of atonement ; for it was enjoined on Aaron 
to wear this motto, that he might bear the iniquity of the 
holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in 
all their holy gifts ; and it shall be always upon his 
forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord. 
(Ex. xxviii. 38.) How pure and holy is God ; how 
impure are we, even in our best estate on earth, and 
in our best performances. From the epistle to the He- 
brews, we learn the great and glorious character of 
Christ as our High Priest. There we are told, that " it 
behoved him to be made like unto his brethren ; that he 
might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things 
pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins 
of the people, (ii. 17.) Again, we have a great High 
Priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son 
of God. (iv. 14.) Christ glorified not himself to be 
made a High Priest, but he that said unto him, " Thou 
art my Son, to-day have I begotten thee." Thou art a 
priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. (v. 5, 6.) 
Called of God a High Priest, after the order of Mel- 
chisedec. (v. 10.) Melchisedec has been called a 
type of Christ, because he was both king and priest j* 
without father, without mother ; or, as it is rendered in 
the margin, without pedigree, (vii. 3.) Scripture 
tells us nothing of his father, or of his mother, or of his 



* Eng. Annotations, Heb. vii. 1. 



110 THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE* 

genealogy, or of his birth, or of his death ; and in this 
sense he was a figure of Jesus Christ, who is a Priest 
forever, according to the order of Melchisedec, and not 
according to the order of Aaron, whose origin, life, and 
death, are known.* The same epistle, teaching us the 
superiority of the sacrifice of Christ, over all Jewish 
sacrifices, tells us that he, being become a High Priest, 
by hisownblood, he entered in once into the holy place, 
having obtained eternal redemption for us. (ix. 12, 13.) 
And again, Christ is entered into heaven, to appear in 
the presence of God for us ; (ix. 24 ;) in the end of the 
world hath he appeared, to put away sin by the sacrifice 
of himself, (ix. 26.) By the will of God we are 
sanctified, through the offering of the body of Jesus 
Christ once for all. (x. 10.) We see Jesus, who was 
made a little lower than the angels, for (or by) the suf- 
fering of death, crowned with glory and honour, that he, 
by the grace of God, should taste death for every man, 
(ii. 9.) Who, that has seen the wisdom of Christ as 
our Prophet, offering lessons of divine truth, and now 
beholds him giving himself a sacrifice for the sin of the 
world, can for a moment think of saying, we will not 
have this man to reign over us? (Luke xix. 14. ) We 
would rather suppose that, overcome by his wisdom and 
his love, they would fall down, worship, and adore. 

We are now to consider our blessed Lord in the cha- 
racter of Ring. The Scripture gives abundant testi- 
mony that he is King. When he was about to make 
his public entry into Jerusalem, he gave instruction to 
two of his disciples relative to it ; and we are told that 
all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was 



* Taylor's Calmet, art. M, 



THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. "" r ' r 111 

spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of 
Zion, Behold thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and 
sitting upon an ass, and a colt, the foal of an ass. (Mat. 
xxi. 4, 5.) Isaiah says, Behold, the Lord hath pro- 
claimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daugh- 
ter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh ; behold, his 
reward is with him, and his work (or recompense) before 
him. (Is. Ixii. 11.) Zechariah says, Rejoice greatly, 
O daughter of Zion ; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem : 
behold, thy King cometh unto thee : he is just, and 
having salvation ; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and 
upon a colt, the foal of an ass. (Zech. ix. 9.) Our Lord 
not only claims to be a King, but to have kingdoms at 
his command ; for, at the institution of the supper, he 
says to his disciples, I appoint unto you a kingdom, as 
my Father hath appointed unto me, that ye may eat 
and drink at my table, in my kingdom, and sit on thrones, 
judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (Luke xxii. 29, 30.) 
When interrogated by Pilate, Art thou the king of the 
Jews ? he answered, my kingdom is not of this world ; 
else would my servants fight. And again : Art thou a 
king ? he answers, Thou sayest that I am a king. (John 
xviii. 33 — 37.) When suffering on the cross, one of those 
who suffered with him even then recognised him as a 
king, by saying, Lord, remember me when thou comest 
into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily, I 
say unto thee, to-day shalt thou be with me in paradise. 
(Luke xxii. 42, 43.) In the book of Revelation we are 
told of those who would make war with the Lamb, and 
the Lamb shall overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, 
and King of kings. (Rev. xvii. 14.) We close our 
quotations on this subject with the following from the 



112 



THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 



same book : John saw heaven opened, and observed 
one with a vesture dipped in blood, and his name is 
called The Word of God ; and he hath on his vesture, 
and on his thigh, a name written, King of kings, and 
Lord of lords. (Rev. xix. 11. 13. 16.) 

Now, what think ye of Christ ? Who will venture to 
say, we will not have this man to reign over us ? (Luke 
xix. 14.) Shall the wisdom of God, speaking through 
him, be heard in vain ? Shall he bid us learn of him, 
(Mat. xi. 29,) and we refuse him as a teacher ? Shall 
the love of God be placed before you in the dying Sa- 
viour, and will ye turn away from the sight ? Heard ye 
not his fervent, final prayer for his murderers, Father, 
forgive them, for they know not what they do ? (Luke 
xxiii. 34.) This prayer was for you and me, and was 
not in vain. By the omnipotent power of God, which 
dwelt in him, he who was delivered for our offences, 
was raised again for our justification. (Rom. iv. 25.) 
Shall the attributes of God be all exercised for us ; the 
wisdom, the love, and the power of God, be all mani- 
fested to us, and for us, for our happiness, for our sal- 
vation, and we yet remain lukewarm ? Forbid it, grati- 
tude — forbid it, God ! Man may, in his willing igno- 
rance, despise the divine wisdom ; in the indulgence of 
his evil passions, his heart may be so hardened, as to 
be insensible even to the love of God ; and in the mad- 
ness of his folly, he may so abuse the powers which 
God hath given him, as to bring his whole force against 
the Author of his being. But, blessed be God, man is 
not omnipotent, and God is almighty ; the less must 
be overcome of the greater ; God will not be foiled in 
the end which he had in view in our creation ; nor the 



THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 113 

Saviour disappointed of the joy which was set before 
him, and for which he endured the cross, despised the 
shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne 
of God. (Heb. xii. 2.) The heathen shall be his in- 
heritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth his pos- 
session. (Ps. ii. 8.) Is there a lingering doubt in 
the mind of any, whether he will be for God, or for the 
enemy of God and man? Let such a one remember, 
that, strictly speaking, there can be no neutrality in this 
case ; for this apparent indifference operates as the act 
of an enemy ; its natural tendency is to make others 
indifferent ; and, certainlv, to continue the indifference 
of those who are already in that state, a state so unwise, 
a state so offensive to God, that he says, because 
thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue 
thee out of my mouth ; as many as I love, I rebuke and 
chasten ; be zealous, therefore, and repent. (Rev. iii. 
16. 19.) How unwise is it in men to be indifferent on 
a subject of so much importance ; it is as much more 
important to us as heaven is better than earth, as a ne- 
ver-ending duration is greater than this span of passing 
life. It is not only required of us that we should not 
be indifferent, but that we should be zealous ; and if 
our zeal is in any degree proportionate to the object 
in view, it never can be too great ; nor need we fear 
that it will degenerate into fanaticism, while it is direct- 
ed by our understanding — while we have, thus saith 
the Lord, for what we say or do. 

Perhaps this may be considered as departing from 
the main object of our text ; and possibly it may in some 
degree, yet it is connected with it, in so much as the 
grace of God has been turned into lasciviousness, by 

10 



114 



THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 



men who crept into the church, committing this great evil, 
denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. 
(Jude 4.) And may not that which has been, appear 
again ? May it not appear even among us ? We think 
it may, and we will tell you how. A mind, fixed only 
on the end, the final happiness of all men, but forgetful 
of him who is the way, and the truth, and the life, 
(John xiv. 6,) is he not looking for the end without the 
means ? And such a one, if he gets into the heat of 
controversy, is he not under the temptation to deny 
the necessity of a Saviour? And have we not heard 
of some falling under the temptation, reviling the 
doctrine of the atonement, the necessity of the blood of 
Christ, and ending in atheism, denying the Lord God ? 
May we use the language of Paul, and say, I write not 
these things to shame you, but, as my beloved sons, I 
warn you. (1 Cor. iv. 14.) 

O keep close to the side of the bleeding Saviour ; let 
all your hope rest on him ; for other foundation can no 
man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (1 Cor, 
iii. 11.) 

We have seen the glad tidings of great joy, which 
shall be to all people, in the knowledge of Christ, as 
Prophet, Priest, and King ; let us now take another, 
but not contradictory, view of our subject ; the Gos- 
pel. 

Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, writing to the Gala- 
tians, says, the Scripture, foreseeing that God would 
justify the heathen through faith, preached before the 
Gospel unto Abraham, saying, in thee shall all na- 
tions be blessed. Now, to Abraham and his seed were 
the promises made. He saith not, and to seeds, as of 



THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 



115 



many, but as of one ; and to thy seed, which is Christ. 
(GaL iii. 8. 16.) 

Let us look at the promise to which the apostle al- 
ludes. When God was pleased to call Abraham to get 
out of his country, and from his kindred, and his father's 
house, to a land that he would show him ; it was ac- 
companied with a promise, that of him should be made 
a great nation, that he should be blessed, and his name 
great, and that he should be a blessing. It closes w 7 ith 
these words, and I will bless them that bless thee, and 
curse him that curseth thee : and in thee shall all fami- 
lies of the earth be blessed. (Gen. xii. 3.) Wasnotthis 
blessing the reward of his faith and obedience ? He 
manifests his faith by his obedience, in leaving his 
country, his kindred, and his father's house, at the com- 
mand of God. Let us imitate his example, and when 
duty calls, may no earthly consideration prevent us 
from rendering to God a willing obedience. But who 
is he who curseth Abraham ? The Jew almost adored 
him,. and thought himself entitled to great favour, be- 
cause descended from him ; the Christian blesses him, 
Mahomet does him honour, and we do not know that 
even the idolater hates him. We observe that the party 
blessing is named in the plural, while the party cursing 
is in the singular. Who is this but the grand enemy of 
all righteousness, whether of faith or practice ; who de- 
ceived our mother Eve, teaching her to believe him, 
rather than God, and soon found her his willing and 
obedient subject. Let the principle of faith, or confi- 
dence in G.od, only be shaken, and disobedience to him 
will soon be found to be the necessary result. 

The next Scripture which has relation to the subject 



116 THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 

of the Gospel, as taught by the apostle, is when God was 
about to destroy Sodom and Gomorah. He says, shall I 
hide from Abraham the thing which I do ; seeing that 
Abraham shall become a great and mighty nation, and 
all nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? (Gen. 
xviii. 17, 18.) 

What nearness of union and communion with God ! 
What blessedness in having God for our visitant ! And 
why may we not ? Abraham had no greater reason to 
believe and trust in God than we have. Let us then live 
near to God, by a realizing sense of his presence ; and 
the God of Abraham will come to us and bless us. 
(We will continue our subject at our next meeting.) 



THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 
(continued.) 



Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every crea- 
ture. He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved; but he 
that believeth not, shall be damned. — (Mark xvi. 15, 16.) 

At the close of our last meeting, we were considering 
the Gospel as taught by Paul, writing to the Galatians : 
(Gal. Hi. 8. 16 ;) and referring to the Scriptures which 
support his view of the subject. Let us proceed. The 
next in order is, when Abraham is called to sacrifice 
his son Isaac. And here we cannot but pause and 
think, how strange ! how mysterious ! that the great 
and good God, who hath fixed in every parent so 
strong an attachment to its offspring, should command 
a father to be the murderer of his child ! It cannot be ! 
My duty is to nourish, and cherish my child, not to de- 
stroy him. The very beast of prey protects its young ; 
how then can I be called to destroy my son ? That very 
son, in whom he has but just now told me, the promised 
seed should be called ; and thus, by his own command, 
destroy the natural means by which his own promise 
should be accomplished ? It cannot be ; reason and na- 
ture revolt at the idea. Such would have been the plau« 
sible reasoning of ordinary men. Abraham had held com- 
10* 



118 THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 

munion with God ; he knew the voice of God; and, what- 
ever difficulty there might be, for human wisdom to 
reconcile the promise and the command, what man 
could not do, might be easy with God. His duty was to 
obey. He took two young men, and with them his only 
son, whom he loved, and set out early in the morning 
to discharge this dreadful duty. On the third day of 
their journey, Abraham discovers the place appointed 
of God, requires the young men to halt, while he and 
the lad would go on and worship. He lays the wood on 
him who was to be consumed by it, and in his own hand 
he carries the fatal instrument of death, and the fire, 
which was to kindle the flame, that would reduce to 
ashes his only son, Isaac, whom he loved. Who, that 
has a father's heart, can hear that lovely, innocent boy, 
in the simplicity of his heart, ask his father, behold 
the fire and the wood : but where is the lamb for a 
burnt offering ? Surely if God had not given Abraham 
strength according to his day, here his heart must have 
failed him ; but mark the faith, the wisdom, and the 
prudence of his answer. My son, God will provide 
himself a lamb for a burnt offering. So they went both 
of them together. Arrived at the place which God had 
told him of ; he builds an altar, lays the wood in or- 
der, binds his son, lays him on the wood on the al- 
tar, and stretches forth his hand to give the fatal blow. 
A moment more, and the life blood of his darling son, 
shed by the father's hand, would have stained the holy 
altar. The angel of the Lord calls from heaven ; the 
blow is forbidden ; the beloved son is saved, and a ram, 
caught in the thicket, offered in his stead. 

When we have looked at this divine picture of the 
astonishing faith and obedience of Abraham, it is im- 



THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 



119 



possible for us not to think of the perfect faith and obe- 
dience of his son Isaac. Surely, Abraham, when he was 
about to bind his son, must have communicated to him 
the divine command, and he, knowing his father's truth, 
believes and obeys ; or rather, beholding his Father, 
God, says in his heart, not my will, but thine, be done. 
When we allow these reasonable conjectures, we know 
not which most to admire, the father, who gives up the 
life of the son, or the son who gives up his own life, at 
the requirement of the father. 

Behold the reward of his faith and obedience. The 
angel of the Lord called the second time out of heaven 
unto Abraham, saying, by myself have I sworn, saith the 
Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast 
not withheld thy son, thine only son : that in blessing 
I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy 
seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is 
upon the sea shore ; and thy seed shall possess the gate 
of his enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of 
the earth be blessed, because thou hast obeyed my 
voice. (Gen, xxii. 1 — 18.) Let the advocate of human 
righteousness here observe, that the obedience of Abra- 
ham was the ground of the promise. We take leave to 
say, that his obedience was the evidence of his faith, 
and the result of his faith, and that unless he had be- 
lieved it was God who spoke, he could not have obeyed. 
Here let it be observed, that what God hath now sworn 
to, he had already promised ; and when we acknowledge 
that the word of God is sufficient to establish any thing, 
we may be asked, why then did he swear ? We find 
the answer given. That by two immutable things in 
which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a 



120 



TDHE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE 



strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold 
upon the hope set before us. (Heb. vi. 18.) The pro- 
mise is renewed to Isaac, in thy seed shall all the na- 
tions of the earth be blessed. (Gen. xxvi. 4.) Jacob 
was told in vision, thy seed shall be as the dust of the 
earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west and the 
east, and to the north, and to the south : and in thee and 
in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 
(Gen. xxviii. 15.) Surely all will acknowledge that 
the thing promised is blessedness, or happiness ; and if 
we would put beyond doubt the extent thereof, let us 
run over with all possible brevity the promise, as it is 
given, and repeated. 1st. It is, " in Abraham all fami- 
lies of the earth." 2d. It is " in him, (Abraham) all the 
nations of the earth." 3d. It is, "in thy seed, (Abra- 
ham's,) all the nations of the earth." 4th. It is, to 
Isaac, " in thy seed, all the nations of the earth." 5th. 
It is, " in thy seed, all the families of the earth." And, 
as if to make assurance doubly sure, Jacob is told, thy 
seed shall be as the dust of the earth. Could any 
thing more fully take in the world of mankind ? All 
are formed of the dust, and it is therefore impos- 
sible, that the extent of this promise can be confin- 
ed to the literal descendants of Jacob. We may be 
told here that the enjoyment of this blessedness be- 
longs only to believers, inasmuch as those who are 
of faith, the same are the children (or seed) of Abra- 
ham, (Gal. iii. 7.) and blessed with faithful Abra- 
ham. (Gal. iii. 9.) This is true, but it is equally 
true, that while one, formed of the dust of the earth, 
remains in unbelief, the measure of the promise is not 
yet filled"; it requires that the whole race of man be 
blessed with faithful Abraham. And we confidently 



THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 121 

believe the word of promise, and gladly receive the 
consolation of the oath of God ; it was not intended for 
unbelievers, but for those who have fled for refuge to 
lay hold upon the hope set before them. (Heb. vi. 18.) 
We need this consolation, for how few receive the word 
of God on this subject ; and we have never yet found an 
instance, where one would reject the word of God, 
who would believe him even on his oath. 

How well does this view of the extent of the blessing 
agree with the angel's annunciation of the birth of the 
Saviour, as good tidings of great joy, which shall be to 
all people. Who can refrain from joining with the hea- 
venly host, praising God, and saying, glory to God in 
the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. 
(Luke ii. 11. 13, 14.) 

It has been well said, that Scripture is the best inter- 
preter of Scripture ; and in this case has it not been so? 
What pleasure we have received from the consideration 
of those divine truths, to which the apostolic definition 
of the Gospel hath led us. 

It may here be reasonably asked, what is the enjoy- 
ment of those who enter into the joy of those promises ? 
We answer, a life of endless blessedness given us in 
Christ Jesus. This is the Gospel. 

We think it will be acknowledged, that without con- 
sciousness there can be no life ; and if it be said, that 
there may be conscious misery, we answer, this is no 
part of our subject ; for misery in endurance, or in ex- 
pectation, or the news of it, or the threat of it, whether 
to ourselves or others, can never belong to that which 
is glad tidings of great joy. 



122 



THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 



Our hope of future existence depends principally on 
the promise of the Saviour, who says, " because I live, 
ye shall live also." (John xiv. 19.) And that this life 
shall be endless, we also know from him, when he 
tells us, that as the Father hath life in himself, so hath 
he given to the Son to have life in himself. (John v. 26.) 
Now, as we know the Father to be self-existent, and of 
endless duration, the Son, by this declaration, must be 
of endless duration also ; and as he has told us, that his 
is the cause of our life, we think it no unreasonable 
conclusion, that so long as he, the Saviour, lives, we 
shall live also. Or, in other w T ords, the life of Jesus 
will be co-eternal with the self-existent God ; and his, 
the Saviour's, life, being the cause of ours, we, as the 
consequence, must continue world without end. This 
promise of the Saviour is, to us, infinitely superior to 
all the philosophy of man, on the subject of the nature 
of the soul, and the probability of its duration beyond 
the present state. 

Thus saith the Lord for our immortality, we believe, 
and rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory. 
That it will be a life of blessedness we know, for Jesus 
hath gone to prepare a place for us. (John xiv. 2.) 
And we know that he understands our wants infinitely 
better than we do ; that he hath both the will and the 
ability to prepare a place for us, as much superior to 
any thing we can conceive, as his wisdom and power 
are greater than ours. Who, under the influence of this 
faith, will not say, to depart and be with Christ is far 
better? (Phil. i. 23.) 

To be with Christ is to be like him, for we shall see 
him as he is. (1 John iii. 2.) To be like Christ, like 



THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 123 

God ! who can bear the splendour of this glory ? None 
but those who know God, and Christ, whom he hath 
sent; (John xvii. 3;) and, having this knowledge, they 
have, even here, the enjoyment of life eternal. They 
know the great leading attributes of God, and they 
know that these appeared in Christ. 

Let us then examine this glory, by these attributes 
of God. God is infinite in wisdom. Shall we be like 
him ? then shall we be infallible, making no more er- 
rors of the understanding. God is love. Shall we be 
like him ? then shall the heart of stone be far from us, 
and a new heart of tenderness and love be ours. God is 
almighty. Shall we be like him ? then shall we have 
power to do all that love in the heart, directed by light 
in the understanding, could desire and design. Let no 
one suppose, that by this likeness to God, we infringe 
upon the incommunicable infinity of God. No, no — 
this is impossible ; he, and he only, hath a strict and 
proper infinity, a circle of never-beginning, never-end- 
ing being and perfection ; he hath a past and future 
eternity — we only a future. Nor do we murmur at 
this, but rather rejoice ; for as we may grow in grace 
here, why may we not grow in glory hereafter ? nay, 
the hope that we will brightens the divine prospect. 
Is there any thing unreasonable in the hope that our 
love will grow stronger and stronger, our wisdom and 
knowledge more and more extensive, as we continue 
longer and longer in the communion of angels, and of 
God?; or that our power to accomplish what is accord- 
ing to the light and love of God should grow stronger 
and stronger through all eternity, being ever increased 
from the inexhaustible source of all power ? 



124 THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 

Have we not seen that the enjoyment of the Gospel 
is the knowledge of a life of endless blessedness ? Let 
us now inquire, how is it, that it is given us in Christ 
Jesus ? The answer is given us of God, who speaks by 
his inspired apostle, and says, the record that God gave 
of his Son is, that he hath given to us eternal life, and 
this life is in his Son. (1 John v. 10, 11.) What proof 
can be clearer, or more to our purpose — what evidence 
can be stronger ? for we have God himself for our wit- 
ness ! Should any so far misunderstand the context of 
our last quotation, we will now only say, that it is our 
purpose, (God giving the opportunity,) at a future time, 
to enter more fully into the consideration of our last 
quotation, and its context, which, we think, will estab- 
lish the plain declaration, that our eternal life is given 
us in Christ Jesus. Having thus far progressed in the 
subject of our text, let us again say, what is the Gospel 
of God our Saviour ? and are we believers of it ? 

1st. What is the Gospel of God our Saviour? We 
have already said, it is a life of endless blessedness, 
given us (i. e. all men) in Christ Jesus. Do we believe 
this, all this ? and so believe with our understanding, 
that we are able to give to those who ask of us a rea- 
son of the hope that is within us? then are we Chris- 
tians in the true sense of the term, persons trusting in 
Christ for salvation. In proportion as we reject any 
part of this divine communication, so do we lose the 
right to the name of Christian. Do we look for endless 
blessedness without Christ, and say, cannot God save 
by any other way ? we answer, no ! for he is the way, 
and the only way, which God hath chosen ; for Deity 



THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 125 

can do nothing but that which is wisest and best, and 
such hope is the height of absurdity, never to be real- 
ized. Do we hope to gain endless blessedness by our 
imitation of Christ ? This is little better ; for this bless- 
edness is the gift of God, not the purchase of man. 
Can man make God his debtor? If we had obeyed the 
law of God perfectly from the earliest dawn of being, 
would it have put God under any obligation to have 
given us endless life and blessedness ? Certainly not ; 
for, as respects him, we are unprofitable servants. (Luke 
xvii. 10.) The reward of man is in the doing ; for in 
keeping of them (the judgments, statutes, and com- 
mandments of the Lord) there is great reward. If, 
then, obedience is accompanied by great reward, what 
reason is there in looking for future payment, especial- 
ly for one so perfect and eternal ? No, the doctrine 
of salvation is a doctrine of free, unmerited, and 
boundless grace, extensive as the family of man, and 
endless as eternity. 

Do you expect this blessedness from the partial fa- 
vour of God to you ? What right have you ? Your marks 
and tokens will prove little more than that you are a 
Pharisee, saying, stand by, for I am holier than thou. 
(Is. lxv. 5.) Know thyself ; know that thou art a poor 
fallen creature ; a sinner ; yea, a sinner against God 
and man ; know thine own helplessness ; feel the ne- 
cessity of a Saviour ; believe, and be saved. 

Should any say, this doctrine tends to licentiousness ; 
we answer, in the language of inspiration, that the grace 
of God, which bringeth salvation to all men, hath ap- 
peared, teaching us, that denying ungodliness and 



11 



126 



THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE, 



worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and 
godly, in the present world. (Tit. ii. 11, 12.) God grant, 
that we may so ornament our profession. 
(We will continue our subject at our next meeting.) 



THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE, 
(continued.) 



Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. 
He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved; but he that believeth 
not, shall be damned. (Mark xvi. 15, 16.) 

Our text has been repeatedly before us ; we have 
exhibited our view of the Gospel ; we are now to in- 
quire into the nature and necessity of faith. 

An inspired apostle tells us, that faith is the substance 
(ground, or confidence) of things hoped for, the evi- 
dence of things not seen ; (Heb. xi. 1 ;) but so various 
and discordant have been the views which men have 
taken of the Holy Scriptures, that some, either from 
inability to discern, or want of industry to search after 
truth, have given up the pursuit, or fallen into such a 
state of indifference respecting it, that they forget 
its value, and think themselves liberal when they ex- 
claim, 

" For modes of faith let graceless zealots fight ; 
His can't be wrong, whose life is in the right." 

Now, we cannot see why a man, obeying the apostolic 
injunction, by earnestly contending for the faith once 
delivered unto the saints, (Jude 3,) should be consider- 



128 THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE* 



ed as graceless, or without the favour of God ; neither 
have we found the man whose life is in the right. Who 
€an look into the law of God in its purity, then into his 
own heart, and answer to the heart-searching God, Not 
guilty 1 If one is on the face of the earth so great a 
stranger to his God and to himself, surely he can see no 
necessity for a Saviour ; with him, one faith is as good 
as another, and none as good as any. We fear that there 
is an error in the religious world respecting faith in reli- 
gion ; that it is something different in its essential nature 
from faith on other subjects ; the apostle makes no dif- 
ference, why should we make any ? We make none ; 
we believe, on evidence, a thousand things relative to 
past ages, and respecting foreign countries, persons, 
and things, in the present age ; nay, there is not a day, 
or hour, that we live, but we put faith in those with 
whom we have intercourse ; and why is it that we thus 
put faith in poor, fallible, weak man ? We answer, 
our faith is in proportion to the evidence we have, that 
our expectations will not be disappointed ; and when we 
place no confidence, we have no faith, we withdraw our 
intercourse, and avoid all connexion. How plain and 
simple a thing is faith : it is merely confidence ground- 
ed on evidence. In the case before us, what ground 
of confidence have we for the faith which we profess ? 
We answer, the greatest and the best : the word of 
God. Our fellow men may, under the most plausible 
appearances, deceive us ; our senses may deceive us ; 
but the word of God never can. And this is the word 
which, by the Gospel, is preached unto you. (1 Pet. 
i. 25.) 

Has not this Gospel been preached unto us ? is it not 



THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 129 



glad tidings of great joy? shall it riot be to all peo- 
ple ? is it not endless life to us (i. e. all men) in Christ 
Jesus? and have we not for the ground of our confi- 
dence the word of him who cannot lie ? Surely, those 
who have such evidence must shut their eyes and ears, 
or believe. 

But we are told, he that believeth, and is baptized, 
shall be saved ; it is, therefore, our duty to consider 
the subject of baptism. And here we might enter into 
a wide field of controversy, and endeavour to show you 
what men have thought, and why they so thought, on 
this part of our text ; but on this we will be brief. It 
does appear to us, that it is expedient, that on entering 
into any community, there is a propriety in having some 
fixed form or rule by which the party so received 
should be recognised as a member of that community, 
John the Baptist used external baptism ; and the Sa- 
viour not only submitted to it, but approved it, saying, 
thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. (Mat. iii. 
15.) The doctrine of John was, that the kingdom of 
heaven was at hand, and therefore he required of the 
multitude repentance ; but when Jesus appeared, to be 
baptized, he would have declined ; and it was only on 
the Saviours persevering that John submitted. And 
Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of 
the water : and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, 
and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and 
lighting upon him : And lo, a voice from heaven, say- 
ing, This is my beloved >Son, in whom I am well 
pleased. (Mat. iii. 18, 17.) Such was the honour con- 
ferred on the external baptism of John ; for, surely 3 



II 



130 



THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 



even at that early day Jesus had the Spirit of God with- 
out measure. 

John's baptism ended with his ministry ; and so sen- 
sible was he of his inferiority to him of whom he was 
but the herald, that he says to Jesus, J have need to be 
baptized of thee, and comestthou to me ? (Mat. iii. 14.) 
and to the multitude, I indeed baptize you with water 
unto repentance ; but he that cometh after me is mightier 
than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear : he shall 
baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire. (Mat. 
iii. 11.) 

This is the baptism we desire ; the baptism of Jesus ; 
the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and of fire. We must y 
however, acknowledge, that Jesus countenanced ex- 
ternal baptism ; for the Fharisees had heard that Jesus 
made and baptized more disciples than John ; though 
Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples. (John iv. 
1,2.) 

Baptism, as practised among professing Christians, 
varies in its subjects and its forms, but we believe all 
who practise it, consider it indicative of cleansing, or 
purification : some, considering all infants proper sub- 
jects, baptize by sprinkling ; and if this is in token 
of that sprinkling which cleanseth from all sin, why is it 
not appropriate ? others consider, that the baptism of 
infants must be confined to the children of believers ; 
and if this is because children are heirs of the promises 
made unto the fathers, (for the promise is unto you and 
your children — Acts ii. 39,) then their rule is accord- 
ing to their understanding of Scripture. Those who con- 
sider believers only as fit subjects of baptism, usually 
immerse ; and this being done as a sign of our being 




THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 131 



buried with Christ in baptism, and risen with him, (Col. 
ii. 12,) we cannot but acknowledge, that the form 
seems suited to the case. While we neither pretend to 
support any one of these forms to the exclusion of all 
others, there is one thing in which we rejoice : We be- 
lieve that each performs this rite in the name of the 
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; thus 
distinguishing the distinctive character of each, and the 
unity of the three. Will any one object to this? it is 
the command of Christ, who says, by his evange- 
list Matthew, Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, 
(or make disciples, or Christians, of all nations,) bap- 
tizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, 
and of the Holy Ghost. (Mat. xxviii. 19.) But what 
is our own practice relative to this matter ? We an- 
swer, that, considering Christ as the head of every 
man, (1 Cor. xi. 3,) we receive even infants as mem- 
bers of his body, and dedicate them to God, the Father 
of their spirits, to whom they properly belong, to be bap- 
tized with his baptism, in the name of the Father, and 
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, pronouncing on them 
the blessing wherewith God commanded Moses to bless 
all his people, saying, " The Lord bless thee and keep 
thee ; the Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be 
gracious unto thee ; the Lord lift up his countenance 
upon thee, and give thee peace. And returning the 
child with this short exhortation : Take this child, the 
gift of God, our common Father, bring him (or her) up 
in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and God will 
bless you and him (or her.) When the party thus bap- 
tized, or dedicated, is an infant, it must be considered 
as the act of the party oifering, and a recognition of the 



132 



THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 



doctrine taught in the place ; when an adult, it is, of 
course, a confession of the faith of the party thus act- 
ing. 

It is worthy of observation, that Christ says, teach 
all nations, or make disciples, or Christians, of them. 
Now, how is this to be done but by teaching, or preach- 
ing to them the Gospel, the glad tidings of great joy ; 
by showing to them the need of a Saviour, and the all- 
sufficiency of that Saviour whom God hath provided ? 
Is it not the duty of every one who presents a child, to 
labour with all diligence to bring up that child, and feed 
it with the nourishment which the word of God provides ; 
and to admonish, with all patience and fidelity, of the 
evil of transgression, and to show, that while God is in- 
deed the Saviour, yet as the moral governor of the uni- 
verse, he will not suffer his laws to be broken with im- 
punity ; that he hath made the way of the transgress- 
ors hard ? (Prov. xiii. 15.) 

John had promised that Jesus Christ would baptize 
with the Holy Ghost, and with fire. (Mat. iii. 11.) This is 
the baptism that is essential to our happiness. In what 
way hath Christ fulfilled this promise ? We answer, 
by the gift of tongues on the day of Pentecost, when the 
apostles were all, with one accord, in one place : and 
suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rush- 
ing mighty w 7 ind, and it filled all the house where they 
were sitting ; and there appeared unto them cloven 
tongues like as of fire ; and it sat upon each of them : 
and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, arid began 
to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them ut- 
terance. (Acts ii. 1 — 4.) Here it may be asked, what 
interest have we in this, for the age of miracles hath 



THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 133 

long since passed away ? We answer ; the evidence 
we have of the performance of the miracle, being suf- 
ficient, is as good to us for the fact, as if we had been 
present. And again ; are not the Scriptures of the 
New Testament written under the influence of the Di- 
vine Spirit, or Holy Ghost ? and these being faithfully 
handed down to us, therefore, wherever, and to whomso- 
ever the sacred book is sent, in all ages, and to all the 
world, the Holy Ghost yet teacheth ; and to those who 
listen and believe is the enjoyment of the holy flame of 
love, of love to God, as the Saviour and Sanctifier of 
man ; and love to man as the redeemed of the Lord. 
Our faith and our felicity arise from our receiving the 
testimony of the Holy Ghost, as thus handed down to 
us through the apostles. 

But is this baptism ? It is ; for if baptism be cleansing, 
or immersion, or both, then is it the baptism of the Spi- 
rit ; for who can read, understand, and believe, the ef- 
ficacy of the atonement, and not feel the influence of 
that blood which cleanseth from all sin ? 

Who can see the Son of God suffer for him, and not 
loathe himself as a sinner, and love the Redeemer as 
his Saviour ? 

And is not the natural influence of this feeling a ten- 
dency to moral cleansing ? and though while in the 
flesh he cannot hope for perfection of righteousness in 
himself, yet he looks to Christ as his righteousness. 

Thus is he baptized or cleansed, in the way of God's 
appointment ; and if baptism be immersion, what then 
are we to understand by the term ? Cannot a man be im- 
mersed in any thing but water ? Is not a man immersed 
in that which is the chief pursuit of his life, and which 



134 



THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE, 



he desires above all other things ? When a man is ab- 
sorbed in business or in pleasure, in hatred or in love, 
do we not say he is so immersed in these, he is 
swallowed up in them? And when we find a man so taken 
up with the study of the principles and practice of that 
which the Holy Ghost teacheth that all worldly interests 
are as nothing in comparison, is it any improper mode 
of expression for us to say, he is immersed in the things 
of the Spirit of God ? Is this, or is it not, the baptism of 
the Holy Ghost ? We think it is. W^e do not say, that 
there is any miracle in it, but that it is the natural 
effect 6f humbly listening to the divine teaching which 
God hath placed before us. Was not Paul absorbed 
by, or immersed in, the Spirit, when he said, I deter- 
mined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus 
Christ, and him crucified ? (1 Cor. ii. 2.) 

Believe me, my friends, we are unwise if we do not 
make religion the great business of life ; if we do not 
consider fortune, fame, power, with all else that the 
world calls great and good, as of no value in compari- 
son ; and in truth they are not, for what enjoyment 
in this life can equal the peace of God, which passeth all 
understanding? (Phil. iv. 7.) and beside this, the 
assurance of the understanding, that we shall have a 
perpetuity of bliss in the world to come. The world 
has nothing that will compare with these ; nay, all 
things in the world are less than nothing, and vanity, 
beside them. The true Christian is the most happy 
man in the world ; nay, he is the only happy man in 
the world ; for all the pleasures of life, whether inno- 
cent or vicious, end with life, but the pleasures of reli- 
gion last to eternity. 



THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 



135 



We are now to consider the close of our text, name- 
ly, the consequences of receiving the Gospel, or reject- 
ing it ; for the salvation consequent upon believing, is 
no part of the thing to be believed ; and surely the con* 
demnation can never be any part of good news. And 
first let us consider the effect of believing this good 
news. Perhaps we would do well to inquire what was 
the mental and moral state of the world in the day of 
the apostles, and by comparison with the effect of faith 
on the believer, see the salvation of faith. The apostle 
to the Gentiles tells of them, that when they knew God, 
they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful, 
but became vain in their imaginations, their foolish 
heart was darkened ; professing themselves to be wise, 
they became fools ; and even as they did not like to re- 
tain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a 
reprobate mind. (Rom. i. 21, 22. 28.) Nor does the 
Jew appear to be any better ; for he tells us of them, 
that through them the name of God is blasphemed 
among the Gentiles. (Rom. ii. 24.) And speaking of 
both Jew and Gentile, he says, what then ? are we bet- 
ter than they ? No, in no wise ; for we have before 
proved, both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under 
sin : as it is written, there is none righteous, no, not 
one ; there is none that understandeth, there is none 
that seeketh after God ; they are all gone out of the 
way ; they are together become unprofitable ; there 
is none that doeth good, no, not one. (Rom. iii. 9 — 12.) 
And when writing to the church of Ephesus, and speak- 
ing of their state previous to their conversion, he says, 
that at that time they were without Christ, being aliens 
from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the 



136 



THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE, 



covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God 
in the world. (Eph.ii. 12.) 

How terrible is this description of the world, as it 
then was ! How miserable must it then have been ! 

It was necessary that we should thus see the true 
state of man, and the necessity there was, and is, for a 
Saviour ; and let us ever bear in mind, that the same 
cause will produce the same effect. A.nd now, without 
entering into the subject of the civil and religious ad- 
vantages conferred on the world by the spreading of 
Christianity among the nations of the earth, let us ask 
ourselves, are not we, also, at least in some degree^ 
guilty of the transgressions of former days ? 

(We hope to close our subject at our next meeting.) 



THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 
(concluded.) 



Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every crea- 
ture. He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved ; but he 
that believeth not, shall be damned. — (Mark xvi. 15, 16.) 

In our last discourse we had entered on the consider- 
ation of the consequences of believing, and of rejecting 
the Gospel ; and here we took leave to say, that these 
consequences are no part of the thing to be believed. 
But let no one think that we do not firmly believe in them 
as consequences ; so far from this, we do most solemn- 
ly declare, that we do as heartily and sincferely believe 
in them as consequences, as we do in the glorious truth 
of the Gospel offered to our acceptance: they are the 
words of the living God. 

That we might the better see the advantages of faith, 
we took a scriptural view of the mental and moral state 
of the world without it, and found the Gentile rejecting 
the knowledge of God, professing himself wise, but be- 
coming a fool ; and the Jew to be no better ; that 
through him, the name of God was blasphemed among 
the Gentiles ; and that previous to faith, men were 
without hope, and without God in the world We also 
made application of the subject to ourselves, by asking; 



138 



THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE* 



" Are not we also, at least in some degree, guilty of the 
transgressions of former days ?" Surely, neither Jew 
nor Gentile, previous to Christianity, had any means 
of knowing God, that we have not ; and yet how many 
are there in this day, who, if asked, what do you know 
of the existence or character of God ? would be greatly 
at a loss for a rational answer ; and of those who would 
be thus embarrassed, are there not a few who fancy 
themselves much wiser than their fellows ? Is it unjust 
in God, if in his administration of his government of 
the world, he gives such up to a reprobate mind, to fix 
their affections on things which can continue but a 
little while, which perish in the using ; nay, which, 
even as respects this life, are often worse than useless 
My loved friends, if we prefer any thing to the truth ot 
God ; if we are even guilty of coveting any thing that it 
does not appear to be the will of God to give us, it is ido- 
latry. (Col. iii. 5.) In such case, what then are we better 
than they ? (Rom. iii. 9.) Are we not, like the Ephe- 
sians before their conversion, without hope, and without 
God in the world ? And why is the unbeliever without 
hope ? Because he is without God, or, rather, the 
knowledge of God. Have we this knowledge ? We 
trust we have ! for God has been pleased to manifest 
to us his attributes in the Holy Scriptures; and the Scrip- 
tures we find to be the candle of the Lord, by which 
we read the fair book of nature, or creation, and rejoice 
to find the God of nature and of grace is one. 

Thus enjoying this divine light, we cannot but be- 
lieve the glad tidings of great joy presented to us. 

What, then, are we saved from by this faith ? 

1st. We are saved from the fear of future misery ; 



THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 139 



for, to the penitent on the cross our Lord says, To- 
day shalt thou be with me in Paradise ; (Luke xxiii. 
43 ;) or, as we would say, the garden of delights. To 
justify us in this mode of expression, we observe that in 
the Vulgate, or Latin translation of the Old Testament, 
(Gen. ii. 8,) the translation is paradisum voluntatis. 
See on this subject Calmet's Dictionary of the Bible, 
articles Paradise and Vulgate. Some have thought 
that this is the place where the souls of the righteous 
remain from death till the resurrection ;* but, whatever 
may be the truth in this matter, there can be no doubt 
of its being a place of happiness. 

2d. We are saved from the fear of annihilation ; a 
fear which, we think, must occasionally afflict the mind 
of him who has no knowledge of that life and immor- 
tality which are brought to light through the Gospel. 
(2 Tim. i. 10.) It is perfectly in vain for any one to 
say, I have long since, and for ever, rejected the doctrine 
of endless misery ; is not the result, therefore, the as- 
surance of endless life ? We answer, no ; for the rejec- 
tion of an error by no means implies the belief of the 
truth ; nay, could we collect together all the errors 
that ever passed in the world under the name of truth ; 
could we give to each a material form, and pile them to 
the very heavens, and at a stroke destroy them all, it 
would, at best, be but a negative good obtained ; for it 
is not by the rejection of error, but by the belief of the 
truth, that we enter into rest. (Heb. iv. 3.) Wherever 
the providence of God has made it the duty of your 
speaker to advocate the truth of God, he has thought it 



* Wesley's Notes on the New Testament. 



\ 



140 THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 

a duty to express this sentiment ; and has added to it f 
that if the lifting of his finger would make such Univer- 
salists of the world, he did not know that he would do 
so ; and now he is pretty sure that he would not ; nay, 
he is not sure but it would, in him, be an offence before 
God. And why an offence ? Because the bulk of 
mankind are under the evil influence of their passions, 
and may be restrained by the fear of suffering from the 
omnipotent power of God, whose existence and jus- 
tice they have not entirely forgotten ; whom they dread, 
but do not love ? Why then should we regret, that the 
infuriate passions of unbelieving man should be bound 
by the iron fetter of fear, until he can be restrained by 
the more powerful influence of faith, in the soft and 
silken cord of love ? 

3d. We are saved from the slavish fear of death. 
There is indeed a natural attachment to life, which the 
Author of our being appears, for wise and good purpo- 
ses, to have fixed in all animated nature ; and we do not 
pretend to be without its influence ; we are husbands and 
wives, parents and children, friends and brethren ; these 
are dear to us, and they ought to be so ; to part with 
them without a sigh, would rather prove, that we were 
so hardened in heart that we were unfit for heaven, than 
prove resignation to the will of God. It is the slavish 
fear of death we are freed from. Now this fear is not 
so properly the fear of dying, as of being dead. This the 
believer has no fear of, for he knows that notwithstand- 
ing all his unworthiness, his life is hid with Christ in 
God ; (Col. iii. 3 ;) and he rejoices in the victory which 
God hath given him over death and the grave, through 
our Lord Jesus Christ; (1 Cor. xv. 55 — 57;) and 



THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 141 



therefore for him to depart is to be with Christ. (Phil. 
u 23.) 

4th. We are saved from the anxious solicitudes which 
so often destroy even the innocent pleasures of life, in 
the man who has no hope beyond the present state. 
How many live in the luxuries of life, and yet live in 
the constant fear that they will die poor ? The believer 
knows that there is no want to them that fear God ; 
that they that seek the Lord shall not want any good. 
(Ps. xxxiv. 9, 10.) He hath been taught that godliness 
is profitable to all things, having the promise of the life 
that now is, and of that which is to come. (1 Tim. iv. 8.) 
He hath heard the voice of his Divine Master reproving 
the anxiety of the world respecting food and raiment ; 
(and this is all the physical enjoyment man can have in 
this life ;) he hath obeyed the divine injunction by seek- 
ing, and has found the kingdom of God, and Ms righ- 
teousness, and finds the Saviour faithful to his promise, 
by adding all these things unto him. (Mat. vi. 24 — 34.) 
How conclusive is the reasoning of Paul on the provi- 
ding care of God : he that spared not his own Son, but 
delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him 
also freely give us all things. (Rom. viii. 32.) How 
supremely good is God ! How supremely blessed is 
the believer ! God gives him all he needs ; what more 
can he desire ? He asks no return but confidence in 
the giver, and gratitude for the gift. He gives freely. 
He himself loveth a cheerful giver. (2 Cor. ix. 7.) 
And shall we not love him, who not only gives us all 
things (that is) all that is truly good for us ? (and surely 
that man is insane who desires what is not good for him ;) 
but, above all, shall we not love him, who, without our 

12* 



142 THE GOSrEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 

asking, gave us the greatest and the best of gifts, by de- 
livering up his Son for us all ? We repeat it, the Son of 
God was given for us without our asking. Did Adam 
ask for the seed that should bruise the serpent's head 1 
Did Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob, ask for the seed in which 
all the nations and families of the earth should be bless- 
ed? O, no ! For Christ was in the Divine mind, the 
Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Rev. 
xiii. 8.) What shall they fear respecting the good of 
this world, who have life eternal given them in the Son 
of God? 

5th. The believer is saved from all fear, on the sub- 
ject of his future blessedness. He sees no reason why 
he should doubt the truth of God's Gospel. In proportion 
as a man doubts so is he without faith, and is condemn- 
ed. (Rom. xiv. 23.) He who doubts on the subject of 
his salvation, cannot but fear ; and fear hath torment ; 
(1 John iv. 18 ;) but the believer enters into rest. (Heb. 
iv. 3.) The slightest doubt in the mind would disturb 
this rest, as the slightest pain of the body disturbs the 
physical enjoyment ; the undoubting believer, and he 
only, hath perfect spiritual repose. 

6th. The believer is saved from the sorrow that is 
without hope. The experience of the world, in all ages, 
proves the fact, that man is born to trouble, as naturally 
as it is for the sparks to fly upward. (Job v. 7.) Faith 
does not prevent us from feeling the ills of life, but it 
supports us under them ; for God is faithful, who, with 
the temptation or trial, makes a way to escape. (1 Cor. 
x. 13.) Who hath come to years of maturity, and hath 
not been called to part with some near and dearly be- 
loved friend or relative, one whom it not only was a duty 



THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 



143 



to love, but who deserved to be loved ? Is it possible not 
to sorrow under such a trial ? It is not possible. But 
there is sure and certain comfort ; for them which sleep 
inJesus will God bring with him. (1 Thes. iv. 14.) Nay, 
there is comfort in every case ; for all things work to- 
gether for good to them that love God. (Rom. viii. 28.) 
Here the believer sees the measure of divine guardian- 
ship in life ; for he looks not merely at the principle as re- 
gards the current and tenor of life, but in all that belongs 
to it, from the trial of the fiery furnace and the lions' den, 
to the numbering of the very hairs of his head ; from the 
fiery trial exhibiting death in most terrific form, to the sin- 
gle hair of the head, in human wisdom unworthy of no- 
tice, all are noticed of God, and all a series of unremit- 
ting good, even though each should come under the guise 
of evil. What enjoyment, this side heaven, can be su- 
perior to this ? if any thing, it must be 

7th. That the believer walks with God. Is not this 
to have the Supreme Being for our companion, for our 
constant companion; for our protector, counsellor, 
and comforter ? What condescension in God ! What 
security and blessedness to man ! Had we not the di- 
vine assurance of the fact, we might doubt the possibility 
of it ; but it is true, and we rejoice in it. Enoch walked 
with God, and he was not, for God took him. (Gen. v. 
24.) Noah was a just man, and perfect (or upright) 
in his generations ; and Noah walked with God. (Gen. 
vi. 9.) But it may be said, these were the distinguish- 
ed worthies of old — what right have we to expect that 
God will thus be with us ? We answer, is not every 
believer one of the church of God ? Hear, then, what 
he saith to his church : When thou passest through 



144 THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 

the waters, I will be with thee, and through the rivers, 
they shall not overflow thee ; when thou walkest through 
the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the' 
flame kindle upon thee. (Is. xliii. 2.) Blessed be thy 
name, O Lord, our God ; for, though we have merited 
none of these mercies, yet hast thou freely given to us 
them all. This brings us to the close of our text. 

He that believeth not shall be damned. In enter- 
ing on this subject, we take leave to say, that we as 
firmly believe this, as w r e do the salvation of God ; but 
then we desire to receive it, as we are persuaded God 
meant it, and not according to the misunderstanding of 
prejudiced men. What is the meaning of the word ? 
look at any English dictionary, and we think you 
will find, that though it is always to condemn, the 
nature and duration of the condemnation must ever 
be according to the cause of condemnation, or damna- 
tion. D'Oyly and Mant, in their Notes on the Bible, 
quoting Bishop Tomline as authority, say, on 1 Cor. 
xi. 29., it is material to observe, that the word " dam- 
nation," when the Bible was translated, meant no more 
than condemnation ; any sentence of punishment what- 
ever. Doctor Doddridge, a dissenter, says, on the same 
passage : I think it the most unhappy mistake in all our 
versions of the Bible, that the word xfip*, hrima, is 
h«re rendered damnation. It has raised a dread in ten- 
der minds, which has greatly obstructed the comfort 
and edification they might have received from this or- 
dinance. The apostle afterwards says, we are judged, 
(that is, as he afterwards explains it, we are corrected,) 
that we may not he condemned ; which plainly shows, the 
judgments spoken of might be fatherly chastisements. 



THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 



145 



Now, we are not quite so squeamish as the doctor rela- 
tive to this word ; for, if damnation, rightly understood, 
means condemnation, and we believe it does, what 
would we gain by the alteration ? 

We cannot possibly suppose that any are included in 
this condemnation, but those who have had an oppor- 
tunity of knowing the truth of the Gospel, and have ob- 
stinately rejected it. We have seen some of the bless- 
ings arising from the belief of the Gospel : will not the 
sinful rejection be followed by the reverse of these ? Let 
us look at them in order : and, 1st. We think he must 
live in the fear of future, and, perhaps, of endless mise- 
ry ; for, if he thinks that there may be a God, he must 
know his own accountability, feel his guilt, and dread 
punishment ; nay, from what he has so often heard 
from professing Christians, that it is of endless duration, 
he knows, if these are correct^ all before him must be 
the blackness of darkness. 

2d. He may try to take hope from the doctrine of an- 
nihilation ; but it is all in vain ; for the soul shrinks back 
upon itself, and startles with inward dread and horror 
at the thought of falling into naught. 

3d. He must live in the constant slavish fear of 
death ; he has no hope beyond the grave ; his good is 
all here, and death is every hour coming nearer and 
nearer, to rob him of all that is dear to him, and will 
not suffer him to take with him the merest trifle of all 
that he called his own. 

4th. He spends his life hero, seeking enjoyment, 
but finding none ; for he has sense enough to see the 
uncertainty of these things continuing, even to the end 



146 



THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 



of this life ; and the knowledge of this truth stings even 
in the moment of enjoyment. 

5th. He knows that he must die ; and in the single 
word death, there is every thing that he would avoid. 
The case of suicide is no objection to this truth, for the 
charity of the world has pronounced it insanity ; and 
where it is not, it is an act of supreme wickedness, an 
we know that there is no peace to the wicked. (Is. 
lvii. 21.) 

6th. He finds the ordinary ills of life press more 
heavily upon him ; for when friends are faithless, he is 
a stranger to the friendship of God. When poverty 
overtakes him, he cannot turn to him who can, and 
often does, make poverty a blessing ; he is without 
hope, because he knows not God. 

7th. When the thought of the existence of God 
crosses his mind, it gives the feeling of a culprit look- 
ing at his judge ; he knows him not as a guide, and 
would fly from him if he could ; he knows him not as a 
comforter, but as an accuser, who has placed conscience 
within him, as a worm that gnaws, and never dies. 

What state can we conceive more terrible than this ? 
What careful and unremitting pains should men take 
to avoid it ! How shall it be avoided ? By the belief 
of the Gospel, i. e. " eternal life given to us, i. e. to 
all men, in Christ Jesus ;" less than this will not 
give us perfect peace. Eternal life without Christ 
Jesus, or the atonement, is a mockery of Christianity. 
Eternal life earned by us, even with the help of the Re- 
deemer, is little better. Eternal life given to a part of 
mankind, is not the glad tidings of great joy which shall 
be to all men. The rejection of one part of the Gos- 



THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE. 147 



pel, hazards the belief of the whole. Let us ever bear 
in mind, that according to our faith, such shall be our 
felicity ; let us then be faithful unto death, that we may 
receive the crown of life, (Rev. ii. 10.) And though we 
should labour, and suffer reproach, because we trust in 
the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, especially 
of those that believe ; (1 Tim. iv. 10 ;) let us not return 
evil for evil, nor railing for railing. 

We close with the apostolic exhortation : I beseech 
you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that 
ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, and ac- 
ceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 



THE RECORD OF GOD. 



And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, 
and this life is in his Son. (1 John v. 11.) 

We have often quoted the above passage ; and on a 
late occasion your speaker pledged himself to attempt 
to show, that our understanding of the text is not con- 
tradicted by the context, but supported by it ; and to 
do this, we will take from the 9th to the 14th verse, 
both inclusive. 

Verse 9. If we receive the witness of men, the wit- 
ness of God is greater ; for this is the witness of God, 
which he hath testified of his Son. 

Now, it is perfectly evident, that we do receive the 
witness of men. AW the proceedings of our courts of 
law, whether civil or criminal, are grounded on evi- 
dence, or the witness of men. On the witness of men 
we dispose of the character, the property, nay, the 
very lives of our fellows. It would be utterly impossi- 
ble for society to exist without receiving the witness of 
men. There is not a day, and scarcely an hour of our 
lives, that we do not give credit to what we are told, 
and act upon it, thus showing our faith in our fellows, 
by the proof of our works. 

But ''the witness of God is greater." In what re- 
13 



150 



THE RECORD OF GOD. 



spect is it? We answer; we receive, or confide, in 
the testimony of men, just in proportion as we think the 
party testifying has knowledge of the fact, and has no 
disposition to deceive us. And yet we know well, that 
men may testify falsely through ignorance, believing 
what they say to be true, when in fact it is false ; but, 
what is worse than this, they may, through the tempta- 
tion of acquiring some supposed good, or avoiding some 
supposed evil, testify to what they know to be false. 
And yet, with all this knowledge of the fallibility of hu- 
man testimony, we dispose of all that is dear to man. 

The testimony of God is as much greater than 
that of man, as God the Creator is greater than his 
creature ; and for these plain and simple reasons, be- 
cause he can neither be mistaken, nor tempted. He 
cannot be mistaken, for w T e are told in this epistle, that 
God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. (i. 5.) 
How then can he who is light be mistaken, and testify 
falsely? Again ; he cannot be tempted by the hope of 
acquiring good, when, as Creator, he is already the own- 
er, and in entire possession of all things. The earth 
is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof ; the world, and 
they that dwell therein. (Ps. xxiv. 1.) God cannot be 
tempted with evil. (James i. 13.) 

What can be more unreasonable than for us to put 
so much confidence in man, and not confide in God ? 
and our folly is aggravated by the consideration, that 
the thing relative to which he hath condescended to ap 
pear as a witness, is that " which he hath testified o 
his Son." While we see and feel this truth, let us bear 
in memory, that whatever God does bear witness to, wts 
are bound to believe, however contrary to all our pre- 



THE RECORD OF GOD. 



151 



conceptions of the matter ; for his testimony is the 
highest authority which men or angels are capable of 
receiving. 

Verse 10. He that believeth on the Son of God hath 
the witness in himself: he that believeth not God, hath 
made him a liar, because he believeth not the record 
that God gave of his Son. 

What are we to understand by the believer having 
the witness in himself? We can see nothing obscure, 
mysterious, or difficult to be understood, much less 
can we see any thing supernatural in it. When a wit- 
ness is brought into court, and has given his testimony, 
that testimony is directed to the mind ; the mind receives 
it. Is not the mind then in possession of it? Hath not 
that mind the witness in itself? and the person who hath 
that mind, hath he not the witness in himself? There is 
nothing more plain, nothing more common ; and were it 
a matter of ordinary or of any earthly concern, we think 
it would be considered as a waste of words to attempt to 
prove it. The only difference between this and ordinary 
cases, is the importance of the subject, and the cer- 
tainty of the testimony ; the subject is eternal life ; 
the certainty of the testimony is, that God gave it. 

But we are told, that " he that believeth not God, 
hath made him a liar." We bless God, that, strictly 
speaking, it is not in the power of any man, nor of all 
men, to make God a liar : God cannot lie. (Titus i. 2.) 
How then can those words be true ? In the plain com- 
mon sense in which we have seen ; receiving the witness 
in our selves by believing. When we hear a person 
testify to any fact, and do not believe what he says, we 
may perhaps, in charity, hope that he himself believes 
what he says, but speaks falsehood supposing ijt to be 



152 



THE BE CORD OF GOD . 



true, and thus errs through ignorance ; yet, because he 
spoke falsehood, he is a liar, though not morally so. 
But when we have reason to think he knew better, we 
consider him as guilty of a crime that lays the axe to 
the root of all human wisdom and happiness. 

How do we now look upon the unbelief of man as 
making God a liar ? Just as we do in ordinary cases, of 
man refusing credence to his fellow man. 

There is another, but not contradictory view of this . 
subject. Remove the comma from after the word God, 
and place it before it, and then it will stand, he that 
believeth not, God hath made him, (i. e.) the unbe- 
liever, a liar. And it is well for the poor unhappy infidel, 
that it is so ; for it is his own eternal life that is true, 
though he denies the fact. Yea, let God be true, but 
every man a liar. (Rom. iii. 4.) And what is it that 
now makes man the liar? simply because God says one 
thing, and man another. The parties are at issue ; 
whom shall we believe, God, or man ? Every man who 
has any knowledge of God, knows that he must be true, 
and therefore the falsehood must be with the unbeliever. 
Now the cause of all this difficulty is, that man hath 
refused to believe the record, witness, or testimony, that 
God gave of his Son. But we have not yet heard what 
God hath witnessed. Will you believe it when you 
hear it ? God grant you may ; for we fear that very 
many who hear it, though they bear the Christian 
name, are strangers to its truth. And bear also in me- 
mory, that, whatever it is, it is true, because it is the 
word of the Lord. 

If God were to condescend to speak to us after a 
supernatural manner, would we not be all eye, all ear. 



THE RECORD OF GOD. 



153 



all attention ? And hath he not done this ? Is not all the 
Divine revelation supernatural ? Hear, then, for it is the 
very life of the soul that is concerned. 

Verse 11. And this is the record, (witness, ortesti. 
mony ) that God hath given to us eternal life, and this 
life is in his Son. Now, my friends, do you believe 
this? Perhaps you answer, without hesitation, that you 
do. Are you sure you do ? You reply, that you know 
no reason why you should not. We perfectly accord 
with this ; yet it will be profitable for us to examine the 
subject somewhat more minutely, then we shall better 
understand it. First, it is a gift ; and the very idea of a 
gift prohibits the supposition of any thing, previously 
agreed to be given in return. A grain of sand given for 
a world, is barter or sale on both sides, and is not strict- 
ly a gift on either. Second, it is the doctrine of grace 
or favour ; for what have we that w 7 e could offer to God 
for that which He here says he hath given ? Not that 
he will give. Third, the thing given is the eternal, the 
endless life of the soul ! Now, what can the creature 
render to the Creator for that which is above all price ? 
The thing is impossible. Fourth, this life is given us in 
Christ Jesus, the Son of God. It .is happy for us that 
God hath given this life eternal in his Son ; this secures 
it to us, for he is the same yesterday, and to-day, and for 
ever. (Heb. xiii. 8.) We would also observe, that the 
belief of a part of this testimony or record, to the rejec- 
tion of any part, cannot be considered the belief of the 
record that God hath given us. Thus, if we believe in 
the doctrine of salvation by grace, and eternal life given 
us in ourselves, this could never be eternal life in Christ 
Jesus. Again, if we believe in life eternal secured for 

13* 



154 



THE RECORD OF GOD. 



us in Christ Jesus, on account of our works, or our 
faith, or of both together, much as we value both the 
one and the other, but each in its proper place, this 
would destroy the idea of this life eternal being the gift 

of God. 

We must believe the simple truth of God, and all of 
it ; namely, that God hath given to us eternal life, and 
this life is in his Son. Some one may say, what right 
have I to believe that God hath given this to me ? We 
answer ; is it not the very soul and spirit of the glorious 
Gospel of the blessed God ? (1 Tim. i. 11.) Is it not the 
very thing spoken of by Paul as the Gospel of God, 
containing blessedness in the promised seed to all na- 
tions .? (Gal. iii. 8. 16.) Was not the Gospel to be 
preached to all the world— to every creature ? (Mark 
xvi. 15, 16.) Is it not the duty of those who hear the 
Gospel to believe it? and, having an opportunity to hear 
and know its truth, shall we not be condemned if we do 
not believe it 1 Again ; we maybe asked, how can this 
be true of those who are not yet born of God 1 We an- 
swer, the Gospel is sent to those who do not yet believe 
it, that they may believe and be saved. And this es- 
sence of the Gospel is given us that we may believe. 
God would not present us an untruth, and bid us to 
believe it. A parallel case to the spiritually unborn is far 
from uncommon. A father finds himself on his death- 
bed, and feels it a duty to dispose of his property by 
will. Some of his children are of full age, and capable 
in law of taking possession of the property bequeathed, 
and using it at their own discretion ; some minors, who 
know their rights, but do not have possession. Guar- 
dians must take possession, and act for them. Some are 



THE RECORD OF GOD. 



155 



infants, who know nothing of their rights ; but the law 
has a special regard for infants, and takes peculiar care 
of them. But there is one unborn, but expected. Does 
not the father, by anticipation, see this most helpless 
of all his orphan children, and make the due provision 
for it also ? This child has rights as good and as secure 
in law as any of the others, and no man may interfere 
to injure its claims with impunity. So, the spiritually 
unborn cannot, by their ignorance, destroy the will of 
our Heavenly Father, in the rich inheritance of eternal 
life. When children come to years of discernment, 
and shut their eyes against the evidence of their title, 
they can have no enjoyment of it, and must feel all the 
miseries of poverty ; but when the blindness is taken 
from their eyes, and they see and believe, their pover- 
ty vanishes, the sun of prosperity has arisen upon 
them, and they rejoice exceedingly. So is it spiritu- 
ally : while in unbelief we are in poverty and misery ; 
but when by faith we enter into rest, we know that we 
are heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ. (Rom. viii. 
17.) 

The advantage of having, and the disadvantage of 
rejecting, this record of God, is given us in 

Verse 12. He that hath the Son, hath life ; and he 
that hath not the Son of God, hath not life. 

No man can possibly be so absurd as to suppose, 
that by having the Son, is meant the literal possession 
of the body of the Redeemer ; and if not, what can it 
mean, but the enjoyment of that spiritual life which 
God hath secured for us in Christ Jesus, and which we 
hold by the best possible title — the gift of God ? This 
enjoyment is fre from all enthusiasm ; it is the calm 



156 



THE RECORD OF GOD. 



and sober conviction of the understanding, that because 
Jesus lives, we shall live also. (John xi v. 19.) This na- 
turally lifts us above the slavish fear of death ; it is the 
enjoyment of life eternal, it is heaven begun on earth. 
But may every one enjoy this ? Every one who is capa- 
ble of knowing that the hat or coat he wears is his own, 
is capable of knowing that eternal life is his own ; 
for he can have no better testimony that the clothes 
he wears belong to himself, than the witness of God. 
And he who rejects this testimony sins against his own 
soul, shuts out the light of life, involves himself in men- 
tal darkness ; has no rational assurance of the under- 
standing that he will exist beyond the present state ; and 
in proportion as he loves life must fear death ; and fear 
hath, or is, torment. 

Verse 13. These things have I written unto you 
that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye 
may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may 
believe on the name of the Son of God. 

What did they believe of the Son of God who were 
ignorant of this life in him ? They may have believed 
that he was the promised Messiah, and that his kingdom 
was spiritual ; but it is evident they were ignorant of 
the title they had to life in the Son, and it is equally 
evident that this title existed, and was theirs, when they 
knew nothing of it ; else how could the apostle write 
to them, that they might know that this life was theirs ; 
or, in his own emphatic words, " that ye may know that 
ye have eternal life ?" What is the improvement we 
should make of this subject 1 

We also may have believed that Christ was the pro- 
mised Messiah ; that his kingdom was spiritual ; we may, 
as his subjects, have been striving to increase our spi- 



THE RECORD OF GOD. 



157 



ritual wealth and bright crowns of glory ; and yet, like 
those to whom the beloved disciple wrote, been stran- 
gers to this glorious but humiliating truth ; for the doe- 
trine of grace is humiliating ; and the more extensive 
we see this grace, the more will it exalt Christ, and pre- 
serve us from pharisaism. Does this truth humble us ? 
Humility is a Christian grace ; and the deeper our humi- 
lity, the more do we grow in grace, and, as in the present 
case, in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour ; and, 
in the language of our text, we may more firmly, exten- 
sively, and minutely, " believe on the name of the Son 
of God." 

This effect, we think, is alluded to 

Verse 14. And this is the confidence we have in 
him, that if we ask any thing according to his will, he 
heareth us. 

We think we have known the doctrine of Christian 
perfection stated to be an entire acquiescence in the 
will of God. We know no better definition. He who 
knows any thing of the wisdom of God ? must be per- 
fectly assured, that he knows our wants infinitely bet- 
ter than we do ourselves ; and he must be a stranger to 
the love of God, who does not know that he is more 
willing to give, than we are to ask. Is it not then egre- 
gious folly in us to ask what he sees is not good for us ? 
We ourselves do not desire evil, but good ; and when 
we thus ask in submission, we do most distinctly ex. 
press our own desire. " We know that he heareth 
us." And this very naturally leads us to the truth of 
the closing, 

Verse 15. And if we know that he hear us what- 



158 



THE RECORD OF GOD. 



soever we ask, we know that we have the petitions 
that we desired of him. 

How have we what we desired of him ? By anticipa- 
tion ; for, knowing that he will give it, if it is good for 
us, we are contented, our petition is granted ; but if he 
sees that it is not good for us, we do not wish it, and 
then our petition is equally granted ; and this felicity 
arises solely from our being able to say, with light in 
the understanding, and love in the heart, " Thy will be 
done." 

God hath given to us eternal life ; and this life is in 
his Son. May he grant us aa abiding sense of this 
truth, and may its fruits appear in our life and conver- 
sation, 



THE LAW AND THE TESTIMONY, 



To the law and to the testimony : if they speak not according* 
mg to this word, it is because there is no light in them, (Isaiah 
Tiii. 20.) 

The Scriptures of God have been represented as a 
casket of jewels of inestimable value, and though each 
is above all price, yet we sometimes think a particular 
one is more brilliant than others ; and so it appears to 
us is the one to which we now ask your attention ; for 
what does the whole book of Revelation contain more 
than the law and the testimony of God ? 

David appears to have included the whole Mosaic 
economy, as the law of God, when he speaks of the 
man who walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, and 
says of him, that his delight is in the law of the Lord, 
and in his law doth he meditate day and night, (Ps. i. 1, 
2.) And this with strict propriety ; for it was the same 
authority which commanded sacrifices and ceremonies 
that gave the decalogue, or ten commandments ; and 
that the law and the doctrine of God were considered 
then as synonymous we find by the 19th psalm, where we 
read, (ver. 7,) the law of the Lord is perfect, convert- 
. ing the soul ; but in the margin we read, the doctrine 



160 



THE LAW AND THE TESTIMONY. 



of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul. When in pro- 
cess of time the children of Israel had corrupted their 
ways before God, he was pleased to mark his strong 
displeasure against all external professions of religion, 
when the lives of the professors gave evidence, that it 
was external show only. This he has done in the most 
forcible manner, by the prophet Isaiah, comparing them 
to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, reproving the 
multitude of their sacrifices, forbidding them to bring 
any more vain oblations ; that his soul hated their ap- 
pointed feasts and new moons ; that they were a trou- 
ble to him ; that he was weary to bear them ; that he 
would not hear their prayer, for their hands were full 
of blood ; and requiring of them to learn to do well, 
seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fa- 
therless, plead for the widow. (Is. i. 10 — 17.) How ter- 
rible a picture is this of moral depravity, and all under 
a splendid exterior of religion. Our danger in reading 
this reproof is, that we may possibly suppose that the 
God of Israel was rescinding his own rites and cere« 
monies appointed by himself. By no means ; he was 
simply reproving the abuse of them ; they remained, 
afterward, and he required the proper use of them. 
And here let us remark, that on no occasion does the 
abuse of any thing require of us that we should lay 
aside the proper use thereof, and, especially, a com- 
mand of God. 

When our Lord appeared on earth, we think that the 
Jews made a distinction between the moral and the 
ceremonial parts of the law, and that our Lord recog- 
nises this, when he receives with approbation the re- 
mark of the scribe ; that to love God and man was 



THE LAW AND THE TESTIMONY. 



161 



more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. 
(Mark xii. 32, 33.) 

The ceremonial institutions of Moses not being obli- 
gatory on Christians, our view of the subject must 
therefore be strictly moral ; and it is happy for us that 
our Lord hath given us the purest and most perfect view 
of the subject. Being asked by a certain scribe, 
which is the first commandment of all ? Jesus an- 
swered him, the first of all the commandments is, Hear, 
O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord : and thou shalt 
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all 
thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. 
This is the first commandment ; and the second is like, 
namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 
There is none other commandment greater than these. 
(Mark xii. 28—31.) 

Jews, Christians, and Mahometans, all agree in the 
unity of God, that there is one supreme, self-existent, 
Creator of all things. And when we thus acknowledge 
his existence, we must be constrained to acknowledge 
his right to give law to his creature ; and in whatever 
way he is pleased to communicate it to us, whether by 
the small still voice of conscience, or by the clearer 
testimony of revelation, it is still his right to command, 
and our duty to obey. 

The first part of this first or most important com- 
mandment, is to love God ; but is this the mere dictate 
of authority, or has it a fitness in itself to recommend it 
to us ? While we bow to the authority, we bless God for 
the evidence he hath given us of the fitness of the com- 
mand, in the knowledge of his divine nature. Can we 
see his power in his works and not bow before it ; or 

14 



162 



THE I? AW AND THE TESTIMONY. 



his wisdom in their harmony and not admire it ; or his 
goodness in providing for every living thing, and not 
acknowledge that he is worthy of our love ? but, 
above all, can we as Christians consider him as giving 
his only begotten Son for our salvation, and we not 
love him who hath first so greatly loved us ? God is 
love ; from him we receive all that we have ; and from 
him we expect all that we hope for, in time and in eter- 
nity. Have we any other source of hope ? None. Have 
we his promise for good, and shall we not trust in him 
and love him for his goodness to us? This commandment 
requires of us that we love him with all the heart. The 
heart is the seat of the affections ; and since we see some- 
thing of the greatness of his love to us, let us ask ourselves 
what measure of love do we think God is worthy of, 
if not of the whole, the undivided heart ? and if we do 
love him with the whole heart, is even then our love to 
him greater than his love to us ? rather, is not his love 
to us infinitely greater than our love to him ? Then must 
we ever be unspeakably debtors for his love to us. 

We are also required to love with all the soul. The 
soul is that principle of existence within us, which God 
hath determined shall be of never ending duration ; and 
if we are required to love with all the soul, then are we 
bound to continue this attachment through a never end- 
ing duration. And is there any thing unreasonable in this 
requirement ? Surely, if Deity is unchangeable in his 
nature, the obligation to love him for himself must con- 
tinue coequal with our endless being. 

This great duty of loving God is also to be with all 
the mind. The mind is the seat of the understanding, 
and we believe that the more it is exercised on this sub- 6 ' 



THE LAW AND THE TESTIMONY. 



163 



ject, the stronger will be the conviction that this duty is 
reasonable in itself. The whole mind,without the shadow 
of a doubt, will acknowledge that all its powers ought 
to be constantly employed in the discharge of this first 
and great commandment. (Mat. xxii. 38.) Our Lord 
closes his definition by instructing us, that this love must 
be' with all our strength ; that is, as we conceive, that 
every power of the heart, and soul, and mind, are to be 
constantly and vigorously engaged therein. This is the 
first or most important commandment. And this intro- 
duces us to the second, which the Redeemer says is like 
unto it, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy- 
self. We doubt whether any man can love God with- 
out finding the love of his neighbour following as a con- 
sequence ; but who is my neighbour ? This question 
was asked of our Lord, and his answer is given in the 
beautiful and affecting parable of the traveller, who had 
fallen among thieves, and, being left by them half dead, 
was relieved by the humanity of a Samaritan. The 
moral which is usually drawn from this fine story is in- 
deed benevolent ; that it is our duty to relieve the wants 
of the distressed, of whatever religion or nation. But 
we think there is another view of the subject, which is 
greatly interesting to us, and that is, that as the Sama- 
ritan was the party conferring the benefit, he was the 
neighbour, and to him was gratitude and love due from 
the traveller. Apply this to God and man, then what 
is the gratitude and love we owe to God ? Man, be- 
trayed by the arch deceiver, wounded and expiring by 
his own folly, is taken charge of by the greatBenefactor, 
his immediate wants supplied, and provision made for 
all his future comforts. 



164 THE LAW AND THE TESTIMONY* 



How does this heighten our sense of gratitude to him f 
of the duty of loving him supremely, who is the giver of 
all good; and this, too, without impairing in the smallest 
degree the obligation we owe to our fellow men, who 
have acted the part of the Samaritan to us. 

We have seen the great leading features of the law 
of God ; love to him and love to our fellow men. Well 
may it be said, that love is the fulfilling of the law ; 
(Rom. xiih 10 :) and that every one that loveth is bora 
of God. (1 John iv. 7.) Were all men, at all times, 
under a willing subjection to these divine principles, 
what would the state of our world be ? would it not be a 
constant intercourse between man and his Maker, and a 
constant intercourse between man and man, each striv- 
ing to increase his own blessedness by conferring bliss 
on others; for it is more blessed to give than to receive. 
(Acts xx. 35.) Our earth would be a heaven. 

But, alas, for poor, fallen man, this is not the case, 
the extreme reverse of all this is true. It is a sad sub- 
ject, and it is with painful feelings we enter on it, but a 
sense of duty compels us. » 

What evidence have we ? We answer, the history of 
man as written by himself, and the history of man as 
written under the divine inspiration of God. 

Look at profane history, and what does it exhibit to 
us but scenes of fraud and oppression, ambition and war ; 
one nation rising into power on the ruins of another, and 
in its turn becoming the victim of some equally suc- 
cessful rival. Look at the state of the world at this mo- 
ment, and what is it better ? Take away the oppressor 
and the oppressed, and what population would be left 
behind ? 



THE LAW AND THE TESTIMONY. 165 

If we look at the sacred page, how terrible the pic- 
ture ; rebellion entering the paradise of God through 
the medium of unbelief, and the first born of men tak- 
ing away the life of an innocent brother. The long 
suffering patience of God waited for more than sixteen 
hundred years, and bore with the iniquity of man. and 
he then swept the world by the deluge. Is the cha- 
racter of the postdiluvian world able to stand before the 
law of God ? Surely, No, The testimony of Scripture is 
full to the establishment of this melancholy fact. 

He who would know the moral character of the post- 
diluvian world, need only read the first and second 
chapters of the epistle to the Romans, where he will 
find man represented as hating God, (i. 30,) and without 
natural affection; (ver.Sl;) the Jew causing the Gentile 
to blaspheme God ; and in the third chapter, that the 
Jew is no better than the Gentile, that they are all under 
sin. (ver. 9.) 

It is worthy of observation, that the law of God must 
in its own nature be of perpetual obligation, for it is the 
moral mirror of the divine mind. And let us not complain 
that it is too strict for the weakness of human nature. 
What could we expect from the infinitely pure Being, 
but that which is infinitely pure ? Its purity is that which 
makes it a perfect rule of distinguishing, on all occasions, 
between moral right and wrong ; it is the only perfect 
rule of human conduct. It requires an unbroken con a 
tinuity of obedience. If not, then tell us when, and for 
how long, we may neglect its precepts with impunity., 
Again, the indulgence of desire for a moment, if con - 
trary to any of its precepts, however small that precept 
may comparatively be in our estimation, constitutes a 

14* 



166 



THE LAW AND THE TESTIMONY. 



breach of the law. And though our conduct may be cor- 
rect in the sight of men, and thus, like that of Paul, 
as touching the righteousness which is in the law, blame- 
less, (Philippians iii. 6,) yet when, like him, we learn 
that it enters the mind, that it forbids lust or unlawful 
desire ; that it says thou shalt not covet ; (Rom. vii. 7 ;) 
then shall we be convinced of the impurity of our own 
hearts, and feel that we are sinners before God ; ay, 
and in our own sight too ; for who is so simple as not 
to know the meaning of such plain words as, thou shalt 
not covet. The effect of these few words of the law on 
Paul was, that the sense of sin revived in him, and he 
died, or felt the sentence of the law, which is death. 
(Rom* vii. 9.) 

Again, though the precepts of the law were many, 
yet as a whole it is one ; and the breach of any one 
part, being a breach of the law, constitutes the party an 
offender against the authority of God. And it is not un- 
reasonable, that he who offends in one point is guilty of 
all. (James ii. 10.) He is a breaker of the law, and 
subject to its penalty. Who is he that willingly sins in 
any point, and yet can assure himself that under circum- 
stances of strong temptation, he will not offend in any , 
nay, in every other ? Who can say that he will not listen 
to the voice of interest, ambition, vanity, pride, revenge! 
Who can say how far the first sin, though in his esti- 
mation a little one, may lead him ? Who can say to his 
passions, inclined to sin, thus far mayest thou go, but 
no further ? The little sin will call for a little more, and 
a little and a little more, till that which was esteemed 
but a little is lost sight of, in the tremendous fury of the 
long indulged storm of passion ; till at length he is con 



THE LAW AND THE TESTIMONY. 



167 



vinced that passion governs him, with a power which he 
thinks he cannot control; and. therefore, giving himself 
up to its influence, he is ingulphed in all that makes man 
miserable here, and unfits him for the enjoyment of bliss 
in the world to come. Had this wretched being only- 
seen how far his little sin might lead him ; had he seen 
that no sin can be little in the sight of God, which leads 
to such direful effects, and all sin indulged in has this 
tendency, he would not have thought God a hard master, 
because he includes in his law the prohibition of an evil 
desire; he would have seen the wisdom and goodness of 
God in it, and have blessed him for it. But is the law 
indeed thus strict? Are not venial sins passed by? 
Not one. 

Hear what God hath said on this subject. 

Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things 
which are written in the book of the law to do them. 
(Gal. iii. 10.) We may, perhaps, be asked, who, then, 
can be saved ? and we answer distinctly, that it never 
was the intention of God to give salvation to man by 
the law ; and, being perfectly assured of this truth, 
it has been our earnest desire to destroy every vestige 
and shadow of a hope of eternal life, arising from so 
mistaken a view of the subject. And for proof that the 
law is not the way of salvation, we ask you to attend to 
the testimony of Scripture, where we are taught that 
the law entered that the offence might abound. (Rom. 
v. 20.) Who gave this law ? was it not God ? And why 
was it given ? that offences might increase ? Surely, 
no ; but that the sense of offence existing might be 
deepened in the mind of the offender. Again ; we 
know that what things soever the law saith, (and who 



168 



THE LAW AND THE TESTIMONY. 



is not under the law of conscience or of Moses ?) it 
saith to them who are under the law, that every mouth 
may be stopped, and all the world become guilty before 
God. Therefore, by the deeds of the law, there shall 
no flesh be justified in his sight ; for by the law is the 
knowledge of sin. (Rom. iii. 19,20.) 

How is it possible to believe these to be the true say- 
ings of the living God, and yet cling to our obedience 
to the law as a ground of salvation ? 



4 



I- 



THE LAW AND THE TESTIMONY. 
(concluded.) 



To the law and to the testimony : if they speak not according 
to this word, it is because there is no light in them. (Isaiah 
viii. 20.) 

At our last meeting, when we had this subject be- 
fore us, we think we had sufficient evidence that there 
is no hope of salvation by the law ; and yet the law is 
holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. 
(Rom. vii. 12.) It is holy, because it comes from the 
holy God, from whom nothing that is unholy can possi. 
bly proceed. It is just, for it requires nothing but what 
the Creator might reasonably demand from his crea- 
ture. It is good, for the observance of it, as we have 
seen, would produce a heaven upon earth. We may 
be asked, why, then, is it not the condition of salvation ? 
We answer ; the very idea of salvation implies some 
immediate or impending evil; and the very evil that 
it is necessary we should be saved from, is the sentence 
of that very law which we have broken ; for man is a 
fallen creature. Surely man is not in the image of God, 



170 



THE LAW AND THE TESTIMONY. 



either mentally or morally, in which he was created,. 
(Gen. i. 27.) 

Under this view of the subject, how is it possible that 
the law, or obedience to it, should be the condition of 
salvation ? As well might the condemned prisoner at 
the bar of man appeal to the criminal law which has 
sentenced him, for a justification. 

What, then, is our hope ? There is no hope for us 
but Christ crucified ; for there is none other name under 
heaven given among men whereby we must be saved, 
(Actsiv. 12.) Thanks be to God for this hope; and 
thanks be to him, that it directs us to him who laid down 
his life for us. (1 John iii. 16.) In whom could we so 
reasonably trust, as in that Being of whom it is said, that 
all things were created by him, and for him. (Col. i. 16.) 
We find we have got into the testimonies of God rela- 
tive to our salvation ; but before we proceed further 
in this delightful subject, we will look at some passages 
of Scripture which refer both to the law and the Gos- 
pel. The first we ask your attention to is this : The 
law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by 
Jesus Christ. (John i. 17.) What the law is, we have 
seen ; and what the grace, or favour, is, which we 
stand in need of, and earnestly desire, can be no less 
than an endless life of perfect blessedness. How can 
man give up the desire of natural life ? and much more ; 
can he give up the desire of life beyond the grave ? 
and why does he desire life beyond the present state 
of being, but in the hope that it will be productive 
of good 1 Nor can he be contented with this, if, after all, 
it must be embittered by the sad reflection that it will 
come to an end, and he become as though he had ne- 
ver been ? Nothing less can satisfy the mind than an 



THE LAW AND THE TESTIMONY. 



171 



endless life of blessedness ; and we rejoice to hear the 
Saviour say, that whosoever liveth and believeth in him, 
shall never die. (John xi. 26.) The truth which is spo- 
ken of in connexion with this grace, we consider to be 
the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And if we are asked what is 
truth ? we answer, that in principle it is the knowledge 
of things as they are ; and in practice, it is the per- 
formance of that which we have pledged ourselves to 
do. This, we think, will apply to the case before us ; 
for the infinite knowledge of God could not but see dis- 
tinctly ail that was, is, or would be ; and on the fall 
of our first parents, he pledged his truth that the seed 
of the woman should bruise the serpent's head. (Gen. iii. 
15.) How truly is this promise of God fulfilled to us by 
the Redeemer taking upon him our flesh and blood, 
that through death he might destroy him that had the 
power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver them who 
through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to 
bondage. (Heb. ii. 14, 15.) Again ; Paul, preaching 
at Antioch, says, Be it known unto you, therefore, men 
and brethren, that through this man is preached unto 
you the forgiveness of sins ; and by him, all that be- 
lieve are justified from all things, from which ye could 
not be justified by the law of Moses. (Acts xiii. 38, 39.) 
Here the condemned sinner finds his deliverance, the 
forgiveness of his sins ; and that not by an unholy con- 
tempt of the pure law of God, but by the meritorious 
death and resurrection of Christ. Again ; it is those 
who thus believe in Christ, who was delivered for our 
offences, and was raised again for our justification, 
(Rom. iv. 25,) and those only, who can have in them, 
selves the consolatory sense of their justification. And 



172 THE LAW AND THE TESTIMONY. 

thus the same apostle reasons : therefore, being justi- 
fied by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord 
Jesus Christ. (Rom. v. 1.) Not that our faith can be 
the meritorious cause of our justification, but the re- 
surrection of Christ, who rose for this very purpose, 
namely, /or, or that we might be justified ; and we, by 
believing this truth, have peace with God in our own 
minds. 

The Scriptures abound with testimony of the insuffi- 
ciency of the law, and the all-sufficiency of grace in 
Christ Jesus. In the epistle to the Galatians, Paul 
says, I do not frustrate the grace of God : for if righte- 
ousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. 
(Gal. ii. 21.) 

Now, we think, that every man calling himself a 
Christian, is bound to inquire whether Christ died as a 
martyr or as a sacrifice. We have no hesitation to 
assert,that he did not die as a martyr, but as a sacrifice. 
The martyr suffers the death he cannot avoid, rather 
than abjure his faith. It is even his duty to use all pro- 
per means of avoiding martyrdom. His Lord commands 
him thus to seek his safety by flight, when he says, 
when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into 
another. (Mat. x. 23.) Such is the duty of the fol- 
lower of Christ. But Christ himself was no martyr, he 
was a willing sacrifice. Christ our passover is sacrificed 
for us. (1 Cor. v. 7.) Is it possible for any one who 
reads the New Testament, and knows what Jesus him- 
self says of the end for which he came into the world, 
to consider him merely as a martyr ? 

Speaking of himself as the bread of life which came 
down from heaven, he says, and the bread that I will 



THE LAW AND THE TESTIMONY. 173 

give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the 
world. (John vi. 48. 51.) I lay down my life, that I 
might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I 
lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, 
and I have power to take it again. (John x. 17, 18.) 
I lay down my life for the sheep. (John x. 15.) And 
in view of his sufferings and death, he says, for this 
cause came I unto this hour. (John xii. 27.) Is this 
the language of a martyr ? No. It is the representa- 
tion of him who was at once the victim, and the offerer 
of the sacrifice, Jesus Christ, the High Priest of our 
profession. (Heb. iii. 1.) Believing this truth, we do 
not frustrate the grace of God, and to us Christ is not 
dead in vain ; but to those who do not thus believe, they 
cannot trust in the death of Christ for salvation ; and 
while continuing in unbelief, Christ must to them be 
dead in vain. Here let us at once declare our firm con- 
viction, that every man is a Christian, just in proportion 
as he trusts in Christ for salvation. 

The same apostle continues the same subject when 
he says, Is the law then against the promises of God? 
God forbid : for if there had been a law given, which 
could have given life, verily righteousness should have 
been by the law. (Gal. iii. 21.) 

This text ought to put an end to all controversy, on 
the insufficiency of the law to give us life eternal. 
The law is not against the promises of God ; it rather 
shows us the absolute necessity of a better way ; it 
deepens in our mind the truth of the fact that we are 
sinners, and makes us more earnestly desire that God 
would be pleased to find out some way of mercy. And, 
as if the apostle intended to put this matter beyond all 

15 



174 



THE LAW AND THE TESTIMONY. 



possibility of doubt, he says, Christ is become of no ef- 
fect unto you. Whosoever of you are justified by the 
law, ye are fallen from grace. (Gal. v. 4.) There ap- 
pears to be a continual struggle in the world, between 
the principle of salvation by the law of God, and the 
principle of salvation by the grace, or favour of God, in 
Christ Jesus. The absurdity of the first has, we hope, 
been too clearly manifested to admit of doubt. There is 
then nothing left us but a dependence on the mercy of 
God ; but we are constrained to say, that we think 
there may be an unwarranted dependence on this 
mercy ; and every hope that does not depend on that 
mercy as manifested in Christ Jesus, is unwarranted by 
Scripture. But if we are not mistaken, there has 
something like a middle way been struck out for us, that 
seems as if it intended to unite both law and Gospel ; 
and the lovers of this way say, what God hath joined 
together let no man put asunder. But we know no other 
way in which they can be seen in Scripture, than the 
first making more manifest the necessity of the second. 
When speaking on this subject, we have been accus- 
tomed to speak of it something in the following manner, 
Suppose we consider the subject of our salvation as 
graduated on a scale of a hundred degrees ; the whole 
must be filled up or we are not saved. What portion 
shall we allow to the righteousness of Christ, ? and what 
portion must be allowed to our own obedience or righ- 
teousness ? For we are told, if we do our part, God will 
do his ; or God hath done his part, and it is our business 
to do ours. The question still returns, what belongs to 
God, and what to us ? Shall we say, that he hath laid 
the foundation in the grade of one, and on this we must 



THE LAW AND THE TESTIMONY. 



175 



build the remainder ; that is, we have to perfect the 
work in the degree of ninety-nine. You are shocked at 
this ; for it gives to the creature ninety-nine degrees of 
honour, and the Creator one only. This will never do; 
for it exalts the creature above all that belongs to him, 
and puts God almost out of the question. Shall we then 
take the middle line, and say that God hath done, or will 
do his part of fifty degrees, and we also must do our 
fifty to complete the work? Neither will this answer; 
for though it has some appearance of making us co- 
workers with God, it has also the difficulty of making 
us co-equal with God in this all-important matter. 
This, therefore, will not answer, and the line must be 
drawn elsewhere. And if, to give God as much glory as 
possible, and allow as little as possible to human righte- 
ousness, we place ninety and nine degrees wrought, or 
to be wrought by God, and one degree only left for 
poor weak man to perform, neither is this without 
difficulty ; for if poor weak man should not perform his 
little part, all the ninety and nine parts of the work of 
God go for nothing. And does it not, if man does 
perform his little part, does it not give him an import- 
ance beyond all reason or revelation ? Have we erred 
in drawing the line ; then do tell us where it ought to 
be ? But as we think this never can be done ; let us 
acknowledge that our salvation belongs entirely and ex- 
clusively to God ; and to him therefore belongs the 
glory ; and for this, glory be to God. 

Our testimonies for God and his salvation, have been 
drawn from the New Testament; but, as our Lord says, 
search the Scriptures ; (of the Old Testament ;) for in 
them ye think ye have eternal life ; and they are they 



176 



THE LAW AND THE TESTIMONY* 



which testify of me. (John v. 39.) We will look at 
some of the important truths relative to the Redeemer 
taught us by the Prophet Isaiah. We are told of him, 
that his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, 
The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince 
of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace 
there shall be no end, (ix. 6, 7.) There shall be a 
root of Jesse^ which shall stand for an ensign of the peo- 
ple ; to it shall the Gentiles seek ; and his rest shall be 
glorious, (xi. 10.) He will swallow up death in 
victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from 
off all faces. We will be glad and rejoice in his salva- 
tion, (xxv. 8, 9.) The 'Lord is our judge; the 
Lord is our lawgiver ; the Lord is our king ; he will 
save us. (xxxiii. 22.) Say to them that are of a fear- 
ful heart, be strong ; behold your God will come with 
vengeance, even God with a recompense ; he will 
come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be 
opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped ; 
then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue 
of the dumb sing. (xxxv. 4, 5, 6.) Behold my 
servant whom I uphold ; mine elect in whom my soul 
delighteth : he shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he 
have set judgment in the earth ; and the isles shall wait 
for his law. (xlii. 1, 4.) I have blotted out, as a 
thick cloud, thy transgressions, and as a cloud thy sins : 
return unto me, for I have redeemed thee. (xliv. 
22.) Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an ever- 
lasting salvation. Ye shall not be ashamed nor con- 
founded world without end. (xlv. 17.) Look unto 
me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, 
(xlv. 22.) It is a light thing that thou shouldest be 



THE LAW AND THE TESTIMONY. 



177 



my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to 
restore the preserved of Israel. I will also give thee for 
a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation 
unto the end of the earth, (xlix. 6.) The heavens 
shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax 
old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall 
die in like manner; but my salvation shall be forever, 
and my righteousness shall not be abolished, (li. 6.) 
The Lord hath comforted his people ; he hath re- 
deemed Jerusalem. The Lord hath made bare his holy 
arm in the eyes of all the nations : and all the ends of 
the earth shall see the salvation of our God. (lii. 
9, 10.) 

Who hath believed our report ? (or doctrine ;) and to 
whom is the arm of the Lord revealed ? He is despised 
and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted 
with grief. He was wounded for our transgressions, 
he was bruised for our iniquities ; the chastisement 
of our peace was upon him ; and with his stripes we are 
healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. The 
Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. The plea- 
sure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall 
see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied, 
(liii. % 9 5, 10, 11.) Thy Maker is thine husband 
the Lord of Hosts is his name ; and thy Redeemer the 
Holy One of Israel ; the God of the whole earth shall 
he be called, (liv. 5.) I will not contend for ever, 
neither will I be always wroth : for the spirit should fail 
before me, and the souls which I have made. (lvii. 
16.) 

Well may Isaiah be called the Gospel prophet, when 
we find in him so much of Christ and his church, the 

15* 



178 THE UW AND THE TESTIMONY. 

nature of his Gospel, and the extent of his dominion. ^ 
We have given these extracts without note or com- 
ment. We have in some sense occasionally abridged 
the text, but never willingly altered the sense; and we 
earnestly recommend to all to examine the quotations 
and their context, and we think the result will be, that 
the honest and intelligent mind will be confirmed in the 
truth. 

One part only of our text remains to bo considered, 
and we will do it with all brevity. 

If they speak not according to this word, it is because 
there is no light in them. The word here spoken of 
is the law and the testimony of God ; and men do not 
speak according to it, when they put their own philo- 
sophy in the place of either the law or the testimony ; 
they rather dictate to God, than learn of him. Can 
there be light in such a character ? it is, in its own na- 
ture, impossible ; for the wisdom of this world is fool- 
ishness with God. And again ; the Lord knoweth the 
thoughts of the wise that they are vain. (1 Cor. iii. 19, 
20.) Our true wisdom is to be thankful for both the 
law and the testimony ; for the law is the perfect rule 
of moral right and wrong ; and the testimony, the only, 
but the sure way of salvation. In proportion as we re- 
ject these, are we in darkness ; the entire rejection is 
to have " no light the partial rejection is to be in 
clouds of uncertainty, of doubt and fear. It is only the 
entire acceptance of all God's words, that will lead us 
into the path of the just, which is as the shining light, 
that shineth more and mora unto the perfect day. 
(Prov. iv. 18.) 



THE LORD'S SUPPER. 



This do in remembrance of me. (1 Cor. xi. 24.) 

Who that hears these words, but knows that they re. 
fer to the divine institution of the supper of our Lord ? 
and who is so little acquainted with the history of the 
Church of Christ, as not to know, that it has been ob- 
served in all ages, and in all Christian countries, from 
the days of the apostles to this very hour? It is, there- 
fore, no wonder that its divine origin, its nature, the use 
and the abuse of it, should always have been subjects 
in which those who wish prosperity to the kingdom 
of the Redeemer, should take a lively and heart-felt 
interest. 

The origin we find stated by three of the evange- 
lists, Matthew xxvi., Mark xiv., and Luke xxii. 

The time of its origin was the observance of the 
Jewish passover ; and it is not irrelevant for us here 
to observe the origin of the passover itself. 

When God would deliver his people, Israel, from 
the bondage of Egypt, he afflicted the oppressor with 
sundry plagues ; but these proving ineffectual to the 
reformation of the tyrant, the death of the first born of 
every family was determined on. But, previous to this 



180 



THE LORD'S SUPPER. 



terrible visitation, the Almighty was pleased to mani- 
fest his protection of the oppressed, by requiring that a 
male lamb, of the first year, and without blemish, one 
for each house, should be slain, and the blood stricken 
on the door posts of the house, in which the lamb, 
being roasted, was eaten. The blood was for a token 
to preserve the inmates, when the Lord should destroy 
the first born of every family not thus protected. 

The result was according to the prediction : the first 
born of Egypt, from the first born of Pharaoh, that sat 
on his throne, unto the first born of the captive that was 
in the dungeon, and all the first born of the cattle, were 
smitten of the Lord. 

The feast of the passover was ordained to be kept 
as an ordinance for ever ; and a reason given is, that 
when their children should ask them, what mean ye by 
this service ? they should say, it is the sacrifice of the 
Lord's passover, who passed over the houses of the 
children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyp- 
tians, and delivered our houses. (Ex. xii.) 

Here it is proper to observe, that the love of God to 
Israel was the primary cause of this salvation ; that 
faith in God, existing in the believing Israelite, was the 
moving cause in him to that obedience which furnished 
to the destroying angel the sign of protection. The 
Israelite believed, and was saved. It was while our 
Lord and his disciples were eating the passover, that 
he instituted the ordinance of the supper ; for the pass- 
over was eaten at supper time, and our observance is, 
therefore, with propriety called, the Lord's supper. 

Of the nature of the Lord's supper, we think we 
may say, that it is a ceremony, pointing out the way 



THE LORD'S SUPPER. 



181 



of salvatiou ; and the fitness of- the ceremony depends 
on the relation or likeness it has to the thing to which 
it directs us. We think that he who runs may read an 
analogy between the temporal salvation of the Israelite 
in Egypt, and the eternal salvation of the Christian, by 
the Lamb of God, who tasted death for every man ; 
(Heb. ii. 9 ;) and whose blood of sprinkling cleanseth 
from all sin. (Heb. xii.24. Uohn i. 7.) Our Lord had 
taught both the Jews and his disciples, that he was the 
bread of God which cometh down from heaven, and 
giveth life unto the world. (John vi. 33.) Now, as we 
know, that although this word is most commonly used 
to designate food made of ground corn, yet is it also 
used for food in general, for any thing that is used for 
the support of life at lar^e ; is there in the world one 
so ignorant as not to know, that for the support of the 
natural body he must eat bread, or die ? but, alas ! how 
few are there in the world who do know, that the spirit- 
ual bread (Christ) is as necessary for the support of the 
soul, as the natural bread is for the natural body. 

The Saviour says again, distinctly, I am that bread of 
life ; I am the living bread which came down from hea- 
ven ; if any man eat of this bread he shall live for ever ; 
and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will 
give for the life of the world. And again ; except ye 
eat of the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, 
ye have no life in you. These things struck the Jews 
with astonishment ; for as all their hopes were carnal, 
so, also, was their understanding of his teaching. And 
if we are asked, why then did he, knowing this to be 
the state of their minds, deliver himself in such lan- 
guage ? we answer, that though no particular reason 



182 



THE LORD'S SUPPER. 



is given in the text, yet in us it is no unreasonable con- 
jecture, that it was, that the subject might more forcibly 
be impressed upon their memory ; and that his disci- 
ples, after his ascension, when they should, by the gift 
of the Holy Ghost, have all things brought to their re- 
membrance, (John xiv. 26,) might see the importance 
which their divine Master attached to his own death? 
as the sacrifice and passover for the world. 

But when our Lord did tell them distinctly, the 
words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they 
are life, (John vi. 63,) did they, even then, believe him ? 
did he gain a single proselyte by it ? Not one. Nay, not 
only the Jews did not receive it, but of his disciples 
there were not a few, but many, who, with the Jews, be- 
fore this explanation thought, this is a hard saying: who 
can hear it? (John vi. 60.) 

Even they, after the explanation was given, not a 
few, but many of them, went back, and walked no more 
with him. (ver. 60.) They wanted no more of his teach- 
ing ; insomuch that Jesus said unto the twelve, will ye 
also go away? Of their fidelity to their Master the story is 
lamentable ; one betrayed him with a kiss ; another de- 
nied him with an oath, repeatedly asserting that he did 
not know him, and, when pressed on the subject, began 
to curse and to swear. (Mat. xxvi. 49. 69 — 74.) Yet 
this very disciple had but a little while before said, al- 
though all shall be offended, yet will not I. (Mark xiv. 
29.) And when warned by his Master, that that very 
day he would deny him thrice, he spake the more ve- 
hemently, if I should die with thee, I will not deny thee 
in anywise. Likewise also said they all. But alas, alas, 
for poor fallen human nature when left to itself; they all 



THE LORD'S SUrPER. 



183 



in the hour of danger forsook him and fled. (Mark 
xiv. 50.) 

In the death of Christ we see the fulfilment of three 
predictions. He was the Shiloh unto whom should the 
gathering of the people be. (Gen. xlix. 10.) We think 
our Lord takes this to himself when, speaking of the man- 
ner of his death, he says, And I, if I be lifted up from 
the earth, will draw all men unto me. (John xii. 32.) 
He was so lifted up, and, as the representative of our 
nature, drew all men unto him. But, viewed merely in 
his human nature, as an individual sufferer, he was alone. 
I have trodden the wine-press alone, and of the people 
there was none with me. (Is. lxiii. 3.) 

The elements used in the observance of the supper 
are peculiarly appropriate ; the bread, though one 
piece, is composed of many grains ; and the distinctions 
which to the eye of man may have existed in the harvest, 
field, are lost for ever, when God beholds us in Christ 
Jesus; and doth he not behold us as the members of his 
body, of his flesh, and of his bones. (Eph. v. 30.) 
Jesus says, I am that bread of life. (John vi. 48.) In 
the first epistle to the Corinthians, we are taught that 
the bread which we break is the communion of the 
body of Christ ; that we being many are one bread, and 
one body, for we are all partakers of that one bread. 
(1 Cor. x. 16, 17.) And in the epistle to the Galatians, 
ye are all one in Christ Jesus. (Gal. iii. 28.) In the 
formation of bread, it is necessary that the grain should 
be bruised ; and we, as represented in Christ, were 
with him when he was bruised for our iniquities. (Is. 
liii. 5.) The last process through which bread must 
pass, to make it fit nutriment for human sustenance, is 



184 



THE LORD'S SUPPER. 



that of fire. Was it not the fiery trials and sufferings 
of our Lord which he alluded to when he said. I have a 
baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straitened till 
it be accomplished ? (Luke xii. 50.) Was it not the 
same suffering he referred to when the children of Ze- 
bedee were presented to him by their fond mother for 
earthly honours, and he, declining to promise any, said, 
ye shall be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized 
with ? (Mat. xx. 23.) And was not the captain of our 
salvation made perfect through sufferings 1 (Heb. ii. 10;) 
a perfect example in his life, and a perfect sacrifice in 
his death. 

The observations made on the bread, will in a great 
degree apply to the wine ; for there also, the distinc- 
tions which may have existed in the vineyard, of ripe 
and unripe, of comparatively sweet and sour, exist no 
more. And why not? Because they have passed through 
the wine press. And by whom was this done ? by him 
who trod the wine press alone; (Is. lxiii. 3;) and 
whose blood is represented in the communion cup. 

We have seen the origin and nature of the supper of 
our Lord. We will now inquire into the use and abuse 
of it ; and, first, of its use. It is evident that the pass- 
over was appointed to keep in memory the deliverance 
of Israel, by the blood of the paschal lamb ; and to us it 
is equally plain that the use of the Christian passover 
was to preserve in memory the Lamb of God, who 
taketh away the sin of the world. Our text states the 
use, when it says, do this in remembrance of me. How 
is it possible for us to obey this injunction, without call- 
ing to our remembrance the circumstances under which 
he was placed, when he required this of his followers ? 



THE LORD'S SUPPER. 



185 



That he was about to shed his blood for them, and for 
many, for the remission of their sins ; (Mat. xxvi. 28 ;) 
that the bread represented his body given for them ; 
and that they were to do this in remembrance of him. 
(Luke xxii. 19.) How can we thus call him to our me- 
mory, without seeing all, and much more than all we 
have said of him? And while enjoying this best of all 
feasts, surely we will find our trust in God strengthened 
by the consideration, that he that spared not his own 
Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not 
with him also freely give us all things. (Rom. viii. 32.) 
And by the same reasoning may w T e not conclude, that 
if any thing that we esteemed good, whether health, 
wealth, fame, or fortune, be taken from us, or all of them 
taken together, it is because God saw that it was not 
good for us that they should be longer with us ? For 
surely the unchangeable Being who freely gives all 
would not take, or suffer to be taken from us, that 
which he had given, if it had been good for us that it 
should have continued longer with us. This is the true 
secret of submission to the will of God. Our under- 
standing perfectly acquiesces in this, and does not wish 
to retain what would to us be no longer good ; and 
though the heart may sink in sorrow, faith will say, Thy 
will be done. 

If no other benefit was found in the continued ob- 
servance of the supper, this alone would be sufficient 
for us, that we might have this consolation ; but so long 
as this eating and drinking in memory of Christ is pre- 
served, we think it impossible to destroy the doctrine of 
his vicarious sacrifice, and by it we show the Lord's 
death till he come. (1 Cor. xi. 26.) Christ our pass- 

16 



186 



THE LORD'S SUPPER. 



over is sacrificed for us. (1 Cor. v. 7.) We will now 
consider the abuse of this institution. And first, to take 
the Lord's supper for any secular advantage, or to be 
seen of men, must surely be an abomination in the sight 
of God. The first is the deliberate prostitution of a 
spiritual institution to a worldly advantage, and the last 
is rank hypocrisy. 

Again, if from the indulgence of indolence of mind, or 
indifference toward the nature and use of the supper, 
we come to it in culpable ignorance, we are in imminent 
danger of feelings approaching towards infidelity or fa- 
naticism, the first regarding it as a mere ceremony, and 
the last expecting from it some miraculous effect. 

It is indeed a ceremony, but it is a most significant 
one, and is by far the most important subject in the 
world, for it points out to us the way, and the only way, 
of salvation. If we expect any miraculous effect, we 
shall be disappointed : none such is either promised or 
intimated; the ordinance is simple and the effect natural ; 
for what more natural than for us to see the enormity of 
sin, in the value of the sacrifice made to put it away? 
(Heb. ix. 26.) And is it not natural, that our love to God 
should be confirmed and strengthened by every renewal 
of our obedience to the command, This do in remem- 
brance of me : of him who loved us and gave himself for 
us? (Gal. ii. 20.) A danger to which we are exposed 
relative to the supper is, to suppose, that in partaking 
we bind ourselves by the most solemn oath to the ob- 
servance of all the moral law of God. Now who hath 
thus taken this oath, and after the lapse of a week, a day, 
I had almost said an hour, can look back through the 
intermediate time and say, I am guiltless ? No man can 



THE LORD'S SUPPER. 



187 



do this ; and what then must his feelings be ? I have 
sworn to the Lord and broken my vow. I have become 
thus perjured, and have been eating and drinking con- 
demnation to myself. The reason of all this difficulty 
is, that the poor unhappy participant, instead of discern- 
ing the Lord's body, (1 Cor. xi. 29,) took a solemn oath 
to be obedient to the moral law of Moses and of Christ ; 
and he hath found to his sorrow, that by the deeds of 
the law no flesh is justified, but that by it he hath the 
knowledge of sin. (Rom. iii. 20.) Let no one say 
that we undervalue the law of God. So far from this, it 
is to us the perfect rule of our discernment of right and 
wrong; it shows us our utter helplessness, and the abso- 
lute necessity of a Saviour. 

We have thus endeavoured to show to you the origin, 
the nature, the use. and the abuse of the supper of our 
Lord. We have done it with all possible brevity, for 
the circumstances of the moment permit no extended 
view of the subject. Enough, however, we hope, has 
been said to furnish some instruction, and much matter 
for serious thinking. 

But before we part, permit your speaker to make 
some application of the subject. And first, to you who 
are members of the Society of United Christian Friends. 
I pray you, look at the constitution of the society, and 
you will see that the principal object we had in view, 
in associating ourselves together, was public worship, 
and the celebration of the supper. Article 3. section 
1. reads thus : This society shall meet every first day 
of the week for public worship. Section 2. This so- 
ciety shall meet every first Sunday in each month, for 
the celebration of the Lord's supper. Take away 



188 



THE LORD'S StJPPEEc 



these, and you dissolve the society. Take away the 
first, and you despise the injunction, that we should not 
forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as the 
manner of some is, (Heb. x. 25.) Take away the ce- 
lebration of the supper, and you do all that in you lies 
to blot out the memory of Christ ; for he instituted it, 
that he might be remembered by his followers. A hike- 
warmness on these subjects may soon degenerate into 
coldness, contempt, and even hatred. The exercise 
you are about to be engaged in, manifests a desire to 
improve one part of our worship. We pray, that while 
you are endeavouring to improve the harmony and me- 
lody of sound in praising the Lord, you may also praise 
him with the understanding and the affections, with 
enlightened heads and loving hearts. 

To you who are members of the congregation, but 
not of the society, we ask you to bear in memory, that 
we esteem the table at which the supper is observed, 
as the table of the Lord, and not of man, and that he 
invites all who know and acknowledge him as Lord 
and Master to come to it ; nay, he commands, for he 
says to them, do this ; and our neglect to do, is disobe- 
dience. Let no fear detain you ; the desire in the 
servant to obey is always acceptable to the master ; and 
the maxim that the way of duty is the way of safety, 
should never be lost sight of. Do this, because he re- 
quires it; and do it, that his divine character, as the 
way of salvation, may be brought to your remembrance ; 
and you will grow in grace, and in the knowledge o r 
your Lord and Saviour, whom to know is life eternal. 

To all, we say, examine the nature of the duty, and 
the purity of your own purpose, and so eat of that bread, 
and drink of that cup. (1 Cor. xi. 28.) 



MATTHEW xi. 29, 



" Learn of me." 

It is near fifteen months since your attention was 
first asked to our divine motto.* The course we have 
observed in obedience to it, you know ; and now we 
need only say, that when last we had the opportunity 
of learning of Jesus, our lesson closed with Matthew 
xxv. 30; and that now we have again the blessing of 
hearing him in the remaining part of that chapter. 
Your speaker does not know how he can better dis- 
charge this duty than by asking you to hear a sermon 
prepared for the press more than seven years since. 
Why it was never printed is of little importance, in 
comparison of the interest we feel in offering to you 
what we consider as abundant evidence of what we 
are to understand by the goats on the left ; and this in- 
terest is increased by the consideration, that Univer- 
salists, as well as others, have erred on this subject. 

The introductory remarks are suited only to the cir- 
cumstances under which the sermon was written. 

New.York, June 10th, 1832. 



* The words "learn of me" were the motto to a course of lectures 
on the Gospels, begun March 20,1831, 



16* 



MATTHEW xxv. 46. 



And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the 
righteous into life eternal. 

At the request of a friend, we take these words for 
our consideration. It is well known that this text has 
been taken as the motto to a discourse intended to dis- 
prove the doctrine of the final happiness of all men. 
We have not seeu the sermon, nor do we even recol- 
the name of the preacher. Our purpose on the 
nt occasion is merely to show our own view of the 
ct. 

e abhor quarrels of every kind, and religious quar- 
rel above all others. On the subject of difference in 
reli^ ous opinion, we would recommend to the careful 
perusal of all, a letter on controversy, written by the 
celebrated John Newton, of Olney. It breathes a true 
Christian spirit, and, with but little alteration, is pecu- 
liarly worthy the attention of a Universalist. 

The right understanding of the doctrine in the text 
requires that we begin at the 31st verse. 

We will now consider the leading features of this in- 
teresting portion of the divine testimony. 



192 



MATTHEW XXV. 46. 



Verse 31. " When the Son of Man shall come in his 
glory," 

Is not the Son of Man here spoken of, the Son of 
God, and the Saviour of the world ? 

" And all the holy angels with him 

Here it is worthy of observation, that no unholy an- 
gels are mentioned : none but those who have kept 
their first estate are here noticed. 

" Then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory." 

Are we to suppose by this representation, that the 
once crucified, but now glorified Saviour of the world, is 
literally to be seated upon a throne, however splendid ? 
Are we not rather to consider these words as emblemati- 
cal of the omnipotent power of God ? We will now ask, 
what is his glory ? We have seen him in the character 
of Saviour : what, then, is the glory of the Saviour ? 
Is it not the salvation of that world which he came to 
save ? and did he not, by the grace of God, taste death 
for every man ? Is not the blood of Christ too precious 
to be shed in vain ? His glory, therefore, must be the 
perfect felicity of those whom he came to save. 

This is a glory worthy of his character ; for we infer 
his glory from that character, as we do the glory of 
another from the character which he sustains. Thus, 
the glory of a philosopher is his increase in knowledge ; 
the glory of a merchant is the extent and punctuality 
of his dealings ; the glory of a soldier is his courage 
and conduct in the field of battle, crowned by victory : 
Christ is the glory of the Christian ; Jesus is the cap- 
tain of our salvation ; he is light, and in him there is no 
darkness at all. Does not his glory consist in the tri- 
umph of light over darkness ; in giving to his redeem- 



MATTHEW XXV. 46. 



193 



ed the knowledge of God in Christ, as the Saviour of 
the world ? " For this is life eternal, that they might 
know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom 
thou hast sent." 

Terse 32. " And before him shall be gathered all na- 
tions ; and he shall separate them one from another, as a 
shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats ; (ver. 33 ;) 
and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats 
on the left " 

How are we to understand this verse ? Are we to 
take it in a strictly literal sense, exalting one nation 
to heaven, and sinking another down into inexpressible 
and endless wo ? It requires every individual of a nation 
to constitute a nation ; for of each one it may with proprie- 
ty be said, that he is as much a member of the nation as 
any other. Now, was there ever a nation upon earth, 
in which every individual was so perfectly pure in faith 
or practice, as to give him a title to the glories of hea- 
ven ? And vet no nation can be said fullv to be exalted, 
while any of its parts are wanting. Again ; the same 
observations will apply to a nation condemned to 
wretchedness. Was there ever in the world a single 
nation so totally depraved, that no solitary soul could 
be found in it who might be a subject of the divine 
complacency 1 Had there been ten righteous persons 
found in Sodom, for their sake God would have spared 
its unrighteous inhabitants. 

From these considerations we see the difficulty, nay, 
the impossibility, of considering this the separation of 
one nation from another. Were we to consider it a 
national separation, the nation being considered, by 
contradistinction, as righteous, but having some un- 



194 



MATTHEW XXV. 46. 



righteous in it, these unrighteous persons must be exalt- 
ed to glory ; and if even one such could be exalted there, 
by the same rule every one might. And so of the na- 
tion, which, in its general character, is wicked ; the 
righteous portion of it must go down to misery. 

To suppose that any of the nations of the earth are 
to be the subjects of never-ending wretchedness, isuU 
terly inconsistent with various testimonies of God, Da- 
vid tells us, (Ps. xxii. 27, 28,) " All the ends of the 
world shall remember, and turn unto the Lord ; and all 
the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. 
For the kingdom is the Lord's, and he is governor 
among the nations." 

Here we have a clear statement of the present and 
future state of man. He has forgotten God, and there- 
fore turned from him. But it shall not always be so : 
he shall remember, and turn unto the Lord ; and the 
felicity of his turning is pointed out by his worshipping 
God. And the reasonableness of this we see from the 
consideration that the kingdom is the Lord's ; that he 
is the rightful governor among the nations. 

Again ; the same divine authority tells us, (Ps. 
lxxxvi. 9,) " That all nations whom thou hast made 
shall come and worship before thee, O Lord, and shall 
glorify thy name;" Is there any nation that God hath 
not made ? There is none ; therefore, all will ulti- 
mately be found worshipping God. The nature of this 
worship we are at no loss to conceive, for our Lord 
tells us, (John iv. 23,) "the true worshippers shall 
worship the Father in spirit and in truth ; for the Fa- 
ther seeketh such to worship him." Is not the wor- 
ship that is in truth the dictate of an enlightened un- 



MATTHEW XXV. 46. 



195 



derstanding ? and is not the worship that is in spirit the 
influence of the Spirit of God offered from the heart, 
glowing with love to him from the knowledge of his love 
to us ? How do we glorify God ? is it not by offering 
to him praise ? Such is the divine testimony : (Ps. I. 
23.) u Whoso offereth praise, glorifieth me." How 
can we praise God, unless we know him ; and how can 
we praise him, when we think we do know him, unless 
we see him worthy of praise ? and what more worthy, 
than the character of God the Saviour ? He loveth the 
creature whom he hath made. He is wise enough to 
devise the means of our salvation, and he is mighty to 
save. 

If we can find who are meant by the sheep, and who 
by the goats, our understanding of the whole subject 
will be complete. As Scripture is the best interpreter 
of Scripture, it is to the Scripture that we will refer. 

The hundreth Psalm is full upon this subject. There 
all lands are called upon to make a joyful noise unto 
the Lord, to serve him with gladness, to come before 
his presence with singing, to know that the Lord he is 
God, that it is he that has made us. If we had no other 
information, this would be ground of confidence in him; 
and if the authority of an apocryphal writer could be 
considered as corroborating the testimony of Scripture, 
we would quote Wisdom of Solomon. 

Chap. xi. verse 24. " For thou lovest all things 
that are, and abhorrest nothing which thou hast made ; 
for never wouldest thou have made any thing if thou 
hadst hated it." But that, which is more to our present 
purpose is, that in addition to the character of Creator, 
it is said, we are his people and the sheep of his 



196 



MAT. XXV. 46. 



pasture. This is the language addressed to all lands. 
And for this reason, because he is our Creator, and we 
are his sheep, we are called on to enter his gates 
with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise ; to 
be thankful unto him, and to bless his name. For the 
Lord is good : his mercy is everlasting, and his truth 
endureth to all generations. The prophet Isaiah bears 
testimony to the same effect. (Isaiah liii. 6.) "All 
we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every 
one to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the 
iniquity of us all." Here we conceive the human 
nature, and not the Jews alone are spoken of. All in 
the character of sheep, all in the character of stray 
sheep; and on him, as we have seen, is laid the iniquity 
of us all. It will perhaps be objected, that Christ speaks 
of his sheep as knowing his voice and following him, 
and that those who are not thus described must be the 
goats. But he also says, (John x. 16,) " Other sheep I 
have, which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, 
and they shall hear my voice." 

We have seen mankind in the character of sheep; we 
flow see a portion of them as the followers of Jesus, and 
the residue of them wandering from him : but we see 
his purpose not merely to aid a portion of those wan- 
derers, who would be desirous to find the way, nor to 
press into the way a few distinguished favourites of 
heaven, however unworthy in themselves : but by the 
power of his own omnipotence as Saviour, by the mani- 
festation of his love, he will bring all. And if it were 
possible to suppose that there was in his bosom the 
least reluctance to the task, he speaks of himself as 
bound to do this : he does not say I may, if I will, but 



MATTHEW XXV, 46\ 



197 



^ them also I must bring. And there shall be one fold 
and one shepherd." Jesus the true Shepherd — human 
nature the sheepfold. Yet there are now but few who 
follow the true Shepherd, few indeed who rigidly and 
consistently adhere to the doctrine of Christ and him 
crucified, counting all things but loss for the excellency 
of the knowledge of Christ Jesus. Perhaps no doctrine 
in the world is more unpopular, than the all-sufficiency 
of Christ for our salvation ; for although it will not be 
denied in terms, yet how common is it to find the value 
of our own works, or of our own faith, considered as ne- 
cessary to make perfect the work of the Lord. We 
would not deny, but on the contrary we would maintain, 
the enjoyment, which true Christian faith gives : nei- 
ther would we undervalue the morality of good works ; 
they are good and acceptable in the sight of God, so far 
as they are profitable unto man. But neither our faith, 
nor our works, can give us a title to eternal life : this is 
given to us in Christ Jesus. 

The folly of valuing 'ourselves on account of our 
works, is manifest both by reason and revelation. A 
distinguished philosopher of our own country has said, 
" He, that for giving a draught of water to a thirsty 
person, should expect to be paid with a good plantation, 
would be modest in his demands, compared with those 
who think they deserve heaven for the little good they 
do on earth." And the language of Scripture is yet 
stronger. (Gal. hi. 10.) " Cursed is every one that 
continueth not in all things which are written in the 
book of the law to do them." And again, Paul says. 
(Romans vii. 7.) " I had not known sin but by the 
law : for I had not known lust except the law had said, 

17 



198 



MATTHEW &XV. 48, 



Thou shalt not covet. (Verse 9.) But when the com- 
mandment came, sin revived, and I died. 5 ' If Paul 
speaks thus of himself, what shall we say of ourselves? 
must we not acknowledge, that, according to the purity 
of the law of God, there is none good, no not one ? 

Verse 34. " Then shall the King say unto them on his 
right hand, come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the 
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the 
world" 

Who are those who are blessed of our Father, God* 
We answer, the human natures for we are taught, 
(Gen. i. 27, 28,) that "God created man in his own 
image, in the image of God created he him, male and 
female created he them : and God blessed them.' 9 
And this blessing he has never taken away. It will 
perhaps be asked, did not God take away this blessing, 
and pronounce a curse on man for his transgression! 
We answer, No. The word of God is, (Gen. iii. 
17,) " Cursed is the ground for thysake." (Verse 19.) 
" In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread." In this 
curse, pronounced upon the earth, God did in reality 
pronounce a negative blessing on man, by obliging 
him to labour for his existence. What would be the 
moral situation of fallen man, if the earth yielded spon- 
taneously all that is necessary for his support ? Might 
not that be realized which has sometimes been at- 
tempted in vain, that the nations would rise en masse 
against each other ? And is it not now almost common 
to a proverb, that the industrious man is comparatively 
virtuous, and the idle vicious ? We hope that we shall 
not be considered as speaking too strong a language, 
when we call God the Father of mankind. The great 



MATTHEW XXV. 46. 



199 



apostle to the Gentiles (Acts xvii,) taught this doctrine 
to a mixed multitude of idolaters, among whom were 
philosophers of the Epicureans and of the Stoics, the 
two most distinguished sects of philosophy: quoting one 
of their own poets^ that " We are also his offspring." 
And our Lord taught his followers to address the Creator 
by this endearing name, though at that time they had 
no higher conception of his kingdom than that of a tem- 
poral sovereignty. And we also teach our children to 
put up their little hands together, to look up to God, and 
to say, " Our Father." Even at this age, when they are 
incompetent to what in more mature years would be 
considered the study of theology, we teach them this 
first great principle. Shall we at an after time, by 
teaching them that God is not their Father, endeavour to 
bring them to the reasonable conclusion, that one or 
other of these lessons is untrue ? The first is true, for it 
is given as such by the inspired apostle even to idolaters; 
the latter then falls of course ; and for this good rea- 
son, that the relative character of father and child is in- 
delible. The sacred tie which makes the male and 
female one is dissolved by death: but the relation of 
parent and offspring can never alter. The child may 
indeed be ignorant of the parent, and every child in 
^early infancy is so, but does this absolve the parent from 
the duty of that tender care, which is due from the 
parent to the child ? Can even the disobedience of a 
child justify the parent in the neglect of any thing, which 
would be for the real advantage of that child? Is this 
the language of nature and of reason with respect to 
poor sinful man, and shall we suppose, that God, the 
Father of spirits^ will not discharge those duties fully? 



200 



MATTHEW XXT, 46, 



How often would the earthly parent draw the wanderer 
to himself, but cannot : but what man cannot, God both 
can and will do. It may be said, it is the duty of a 
parent to correct ; we admit it, nay, we maintain it, both 
with respect to the earthly and the heavenly Father. 
The earthly parent has no right to destroy his child 9 
neither can we suppose that he has any right to correct, 
but for the welfare of his offspring. The chastisements 
of God (Heb. xii. 10) are " for our profit, that we 
might be partakers of his holiness," and therefore for 
our happiness. 

Verse 35. " For I v:as an hungered, and ye gave me 
meat : I ivas thirsty, and ye gave me drink : I was a 
stranger, and ye took me in, 

36. " Naked, and ye clothed me : 1 was sick, and ye 
visited me : I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 

37. "Tlien shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lor d, 
when saw we thee an hungered and fed thee 1 or thirsty 
and gave thee drink ? 

36. " When saw we thee a stranger and took thee in ? 
or naked and clothed thee ? 

39. " Or when saw we thee sick or in prison, and came 
unto thee ? 

40. 66 And the King shall answer and say unto them: 
Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto 
one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto 
me." 

The duties required in these verses are spoken of as 
done unto the brethren of the Lord. If we are to judge 
who are his brethren, by the evidence of his love in 
dying for them, we are taught, (Heb. ii. 9,) that " He 
by the grace of God should taste death for every man.** 



MATTHEW XXV. 46- 201 

That " He," (ver. 11,) " is not ashamed to call them 
brethren" That, {ver. 14 — 17,) as the children are 
partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise 
took part of the same ; that through death he might 
destroy him that had the power of death, that is the 
devil, and deliver them, who through fear of death were 
all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily he 
took not on him the nature of angels, but he took on him 
the seed of Abraham, w T herefore in all things it 
behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he 
might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things 
pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of 
the people." Here we observe that every man is called 
his brother : that he was a partaker of our flesh and 
blood, that he might deliver from the bondage of fear, 
those who were all their lifetime subject to it, and who 
consequently lived and died in fear : and in his 
character of High Priest he is recognised as the brother 
of those, for whom he offered the sacrifice of himself 
This calls our attention to the high priest under the 
Jewish economy ; whose duty it was annually (Levit. 
xvi. 33, 34) to make an atonement for the priests, and 
for all the people of the congregation, and for all their 
sins. The commandment Christ has laid on us is, 
(Matthew v. 44,) " Love your enemies, bless them that 
curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for 
them which despitefully use you and persecute you." 
And the same Spirit, speaking through the apostle to the 
Romans, says, (Rom. xii. 20, 21,) u If thine enemy 
hunger, feed him : if he thirst, give him drink : for in so 
doing thou shalt heap eoak of fire on his head. Be not 
overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good," This 

17* 



202 



MATTHEW XXV. 46. 



is the way God hath dealt with us, for (Rom. v. 8) " he 
commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were 
yet sinners, Christ died for us, and, (verse 10,) when we 
were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death 
of his Son. " 

Should we be now asked, Does not Christ here attri- 
bute the felicity of the blessed to their good deeds ? 
We answer, No. And first on the general principle, 
that endless life is the gift of the Creator, not the pur- 
chase of the creature : and again, though the whole 
human nature is before him, yet as respects benevolent 
actions, he must be necessarily speaking of some and 
to others. And when we consider, that these acts of 
benevolence are required of us to be done to the vilest 
of the vile, even to those who despitefully use us, and 
curse us, we see the good will of the Redeemer to 
them, as the creatures of God ; and we see the great 
necessity of their redemption from their state of sin, 
which is always a state of misery. Jesus is the Saviour 
of the chief of sinners. Those who esteem themselves 
the righteous may call sinners to repentance as long as 
they live, but if they do no good to their bodies, they 
give but an imperfect evidence of love to the soul. In 
the answer of the righteous (and they are righteous, so 
far as they do right) we find a striking evidence how 
little they depend on themselves for salvation. To us, 
who do not depend on our own works, how strong the 
stimulus to acts of mercy : " Inasmuch as ye have done 
it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have 
done it unto me." Which of us can realize the thought 
of our Redeemer being among us, in the character of a 
stranger I We instantly inquire, Where is he ? As- 



MATTHEW XXV. 46. 



203 



tonished at hearing he is in prison, we fly to him ; there 
he lies on the cold ground, and without a cover : he is 
pale and emaciated : he is sick, for hunger and thirst 
have made him so. Would not each of us think him- 
self blessed as an angel of heaven, in being permitted to 
minister to his relief? Yet this we have in our power, 
for he hath taught us, it is more blessed to give than to 
receive : it is made our duty to act thus even to our 
enemies. Jesus hath set us the divine example, and 
he esteems acts of kindness done to the meanest as 
done to himself. 

Having now seen that the human nature is the sheep 
of Jesus the great Shepherd, we might be excused if we 
were at a loss clearly to distinguish what is meant by the 
goats : for even the wise and the learned find a com- 
parative difficulty on some passages of Scripture. In 
such a case we might observe, it is enough for us to 
know, that our nature, though fallen and defiled by sin, 
is redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. 

We thank God, that to us there is no difficulty. 

Verse 41. " Then shall he say also unto them on the 
left hand, depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, 
prepared for the devil and his angels " 

In the verse now before us we find, that it is " the 
devil and his angels" who are cursed ; and that it was 
for them the everlasting fire was prepared. In the 34th 
verse we find that the kingdom was prepared for the 
blessed of the Father. We believe all will agree, that it 
is the blessed of the Father who are received into the 
kingdom prepared for them ; and we see no reason why 
we should not consider, that it is the cursed, the devil 
and his angels, who are to endure the everlasting fire 



204 



MATTHEW XXV. 46* 



prepared for them. Fallible man may, and often does, 
prepare for one purpose, and appropriate to another t 
this is an evidence of his want of wisdom. If we see a 
farmer build a large dwelling house ? and a small barn, 
we are not surprised to see him appropriate each to the 
use for which the other was intended. But how absurd 
the idea, to apply any thing like this to God : He knows 
the end from the beginning, and can never be disappoint- 
ed in the means he uses to effect the end : He made 
man, to enjoy him, and to glorify him for ever. Christ 
is the means, and can he fail effecting the purpose ? 

The devil and his angels, or the fallen angelic na- 
ture, not human nature, is here spoken of under the 
character of goats ; and this view receives confirma- 
tion by the consideration, that when our first parents 
fell, through the influence of the deceiver, the curse 
was pronounced on him. (Gen. iii. 14.) " And the Lord 
God said unto the serpent, because thou hast done this, 
thou art cursed above all cattle." 

That we are justified in considering the goat as 
hieroglyphical of the devil, is supported by several au- 
thorities ; and it is worthy of observation, that among 
the authors now to be quoted, not one of them professes 
to believe in the final happiness of all men ; and the 
commentators are decidedly against it ; we may, there- 
fore, on this subject put an undoubting confidence in 
their sincerity. 

The first we offer is from the English annotations, 
a work in which, with others, a number of the divines 
who formed the celebrated Confession of Faith, at 
Westminster, were engaged. This Confession is the 
standard of the church of Scotland. 



MATTHEW XXV. 46. 



205 



" Leviticus xvii. 7. Unto devils. Meaning whatso- 
ever is not the true God, (Deut. xxxii. 17. Ps. cvi. 37. 
1 Cor. x. 20. 2 Cor. xi. 15. Rev. ix. 20,) but yet taken 
for a God, and worshipped as a God. The Hebrew 
word sehhirim, or segnirim, signifieth hair, and goatrsh, 
of sahhar, or sagnar, a hair, or hairy creature, or goat : 
by which may be meant those devils who appeared rough 
and hairy, as the satyrs or fauns ; (Essay xxxiv. 14 ;) 
or because the apparition of such, through fear, made 
the hair stand on end, as Job iv. 15." 

The above note is by John Ley, A. M., a member 
of the assembly of divines at Westminster. His bi- 
ographer (Reid) says of him, that he was an eminently 
learned and pious divine, deeply read in the fathers 
and councils, and one of the chief pillars of presbyte- 
rianism. 

We again quote the English annotations on 
" Isaiah xiii. 21. And satyrs. The word here used 
doth most commonly signify a goat, (Gen. xxxvii. 31. 
Lev. iv. 23,) so called because he is very shaggy, or 
hairy ; for that seems to be the primary notation of 
the word. (Gen. xxvii. 11.) Hence it is, that itishere 
rendered satyrs. — The word is sometimes used for de- 
vils, such as the idolatrous people in old time adored. 
So it is taken Lev. xvii. 7. 2 Chron. xi. 16. And 
they seem so termed, either because they appeared in 
the shape of goats unto those that adored them, or had 
dealings with them." 

This quotation is from Thomas Gataker, another 
member of the Westminster assembly, a man of exten- 
sive erudition. Calamy says of him, that no commen* 



206 



MATTHEW XXV. 46. 



tator, ancient or modern, is entitled to higher praise. 
On the subject of church government he was an Epis- 
copalian ; but in obedience to the sense of a majority 
of his brethren, he signed the covenant. 

Our next authority is from the celebrated Thomas 
Scott, a divine of the church of England, and in doc- 
trine a Calvinist. He says on Leviticus xvii. 7 : The 
word translated devils, is taken from the roughness of a 
goat, and, indeed, signifies a goaU 

We now ask your attention to the selection of notes 
on the Bible by D'Oyly and Mant, domestic chaplains 
to the archbishop of Canterbury ; of course, Episco- 
palians, but Arminians in doctrine. 

u Leviticus xvii. 7. Unto devils. Literally, in the ori- 
ginal, "unto the hairy ones," meaning those brute ani- 
mals covered with hair, especially goats, which they 
worshipped in Egypt, either alive, or in figure. The 
people of Mendes, in Egypt, worshipped Pan, under the 
form of a live goat ; and it is related that monstrous ob- 
scenities were practised at this worship- These devils, 
or goats, are joined with Jeroboam's calves at 2 Chron. 
xi. 15. 

" 2 Chron. xi. 15. And for the devils. The Hebrew 
word here signifies " goats" literally^ and was a term 
commonly used for demons or false gods of all deno- 
minations, who, according to the notions prevailing 
in those times, were supposed to appear under this 
shape. — Pyle. 

" Isaiah xiii. 20. It is uncertain what creatures are 
meant by some Hebrew words in the following verses ; 
particularly what the word signifies which our English 
renders satyrs. It originally means goats ; in which 



MATTHEW XXV. 46. 



207 



shape evil spirits were supposed to appear ; on which 
account our interpreters sometimes render it devils* 
(See note at Lev. xvii. 7. 2 Chron. xi. 15 ; but here, 
and ch. xxxiv. 14. it is rendered satyrs.) Desolate and 
forlorn places were supposed to be inhabited by evil 
spirits. Compare Baruch iv. 35. Rev. xviii. 2. W, 
Lowth." 

Calmet, in his Dictionary of the Bible, under the ar* 
ticle goat, says : 

" Goats. In Leviticus xvii. 7. God commands to 
bring all animals designed to be sacrificed to the door 
of the tabernacle ; c And they shall no more offer their 
sacrifices unto devils, (literally to goats,) after whom 
they have gone a whoring.' 2 Chronicles xi. 15. says, 
Jeroboam established priests for the high places, and 
for the goats, and the calves, which he had made. 

" The generality of interpreters understand this as 
meaning devils, spectres, satyrs, idolatrous figures of 
goats. 

" Herodotus says,* (lib i. cap. 46,) that 6 at Mendes, 
in lower Egypt, both the male and female goat were 
worshipped ; that the God Pan had the face and thighs 
of a goat. Not that they believed him to be of this figure, 
but because it had been customary to represent him 
thus. They paid divine honours also to real goats, as 
appears in the table of Isis. The abominations com- 
mitted during the feasts of these infamous deities are 
well known.' " 

And under the article Azazel, Calmet tells us fur* 
ther, that 



* This is an error of the press ; it should be lib, 2, 



MATT11EW XXV. 46 i 



" Azazel. Spenser says, it signifies some demonj and 
that the goat sent to Azazel was given to the devil* 
Mark, the head of the Marcosian heretics, called the 
devil, whose name he used in his juggling tricks, 
Azazel. (Epiphan. Hceres. 34.) Spenser cites the Caba- 
lists and Julian the apostate, apud S. Cyril, lib. 9. con- 
tra Julian, as favouring his opinion." 

As Calmet has referred to Herodotus, it is proper to 
refer to him. In book 2. ch. 46, he says, "The Mende- 
sians refuse to sacrifice goats of either sex, out of re- 
verence to Pan ; that, like the Greeks, they always re- 
present Pan, in his images, with the countenance of the 
she goat, and the legs of the male. The real motive 
which they assign, Herodotus says, he does not choose 
to relate. The veneration of the Mendesians for these 
animals, and for the males in particular, is equally 
great and universal ; this is also extended to goatherds. 
There is one he-goat more particularly honoured than 
the rest, whose death is seriously lamented by the 
whole district of the Mendesians. In the Egyptian lan- 
guage the word Mendes is used in common for Pan and 
for a goat." The motive of the Mendesians, which 
Herodotus does not choose to relate, must have been 
scandalously obscene beyond all our conceptions ; for 
he does not hesitate to state a fact, of which he says, 
" it happened in this country (Mendes) within my re- 
membrance, and was, indeed, universally notorious ;" 
but the fact, of which he speaks without reserve, is too 
abominable to be repeated here. 

Herodotus, book 2. ch. 145. The Greeks consider- 
ed Hercules, Bacchus, and Pan, as the youngest of 
their deities ; but Egypt esteemed Pan as the most an - 



MATTHEW XXV. 46. 



209 



cient of the gods. (Book 6. ch. 105.) The Athenians 
erected a temple to Pan." 

We now turn to Diodorus, the Sicilian, a Greek 
historian, who flourished about 44 years before Christ, 
He says, (book 1. ch. 6. p. 44,) that the goat was 
worshipped in Mendes ; and further, (p. 45,) that the 
Thebans say, that the goat was accounted among the 
number of the gods. But the reason he gives why 
the goat was thus esteemed, is too scandalously ob- 
scene to be mentioned here. 

Lempriere, in his Classical Dictionary, says, " The 
worhip of Pan was well established, particularly in Ar- 
cadia, where he gave oracles on mount Lycaus. His 
festivals, called by the Greeks LyccEa, were brought to 
Italy by Evander, and they were well known at Rome 
by the name of Lupercalia. The worship and the dif- 
ferent functions of Pan are derived from the heathen 
mythology of the ancient Egyptians. This god was one 
of the eight great gods of the Egyptians, who ranked 
above the other twelve gods, whom the Romans called 
consentes. He was worshipped with the greatest so- 
lemnity all over Egypt. His statues represented him 
as a goat, not because he was really such, but for mys- 
terious reasons. He was looked upon as the principle 
of all things." 

Plato, who flourished about four hundred and fifty 
years before Christ, worshipped Pan as the great all. 
(Ramsay, vol. 2. p. 440.) 

From what we have seen, we think, that to the un- 
prejudiced it will appear evident, that the idolatrous 
worship of the goat, or Pan, prevailed very extensively 
in the heathen world, and that our translators of the Bi- 
ble considered this worship as offered to the devil. If 

18 



210 



MATTHEW XXV. 46. 



the worship of Pan had been confined to the ignorant 
and immoral, we would not be greatly surprised ; but 
when we find Plato, whose writings were so celebrated, 
and whose opinions were so respected, that he was call, 
ed divine ; and " whose philosopy was so sublime, that 
some writers have imagined he drew many of his opi- 
nions concerning the Supreme Being from the writings of 
Moses, while he resided among the Egyptian priests 
when we find so great a man as he was, addressing the 
Creator thus, " O great Pan, or, great all," we are both 
surprised and astonished at the universal prevalence of 
this abominable idolatry ; and it is surely not to be won- 
dered at, that the goat should be the hieroglyphic of 
the devil. 

Verses 42 — 44. " For I was an hungered, and ye 
gave me no meat ; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no 
drink ; I was a stranger, and ye took me not in ; naked, 
and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited 
me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, 
when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, 
or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto 
theer 

It is worthy of remark, that in the verses we have 
last read, and which contain the charges against the 
fallen angelic nature, there is nothing said of any posi- 
tive evil done : the offence is the neglect of doing posi- 
tive good. This should teach us a lesson of humility ; 
for we are too much disposed to value ourselves on what 
we esteem our innocence, whereas we are as much 
bound to do good, as to avoid evil. By what we have 
said, we would by no means be understood to believe, 
that no evil has been done : the devil is a liar, and the 



MATTHEW XXV. 46. 



211 



father of lies ; and we know nothing more productive 
of evil than falsehood. It ought not to appear strange 
to us, that devils are accountable beings. It is as rea- 
sonable that the angelic nature, though fallen, should be 
accountable, as that man, though fallen, should be ac- 
countable. Every intelligent created being is account- 
able to the Creator for the use of the powor given. 
The influence of evil spirits on the children of men is 
generally acknowledged ; and we need not now attempt 
to prove it. If we do not mistake, it has been, and, we 
think, is still acknowledged in the form of indictment, 
where it is said, that the party accused, " notj having 
the fear of God before his eyes, but being moved and 
instigated by the devil," did, at such time and place, do 
so, and so, and so. 

The answer of the unhappy spirits to the charge 
brought against them, appears as if they were un- 
conscious of offence ; and the reply of our Lord con- 
firms the doctrine of the duty of active obedience, in 
these words : 

Verse 45. " Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye 
did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not tome" 

The friends of the doctrine of endless misery rely 
on the word aionion, which, in the former part of this 
verse is translated everlasting, and in the close, eternal ; 
and because it is the same word, th&t is used both with 
respect to the punished and the righteous, draw the 
conclusion, that if suffering is not endless, the felicity 
of the blessed may also terminate. This is plausible, 
but not sound. We are not surprised when superficial 
readers of the Bible are led away by this reasoning ; 
but when the scholar, with much apparent candour and 



212 



MATTHEW XXV. 46. 



piety, comes to this conclusion, we can only account 
for it, by supposing him to be under the influence of a 
long-established belief in the doctrine of endless mise- 
ry. He knows, what every attentive reader of the 
English Bible does know, that the words everlasting 
and eternal are often applied to things which must end 2 
and some which have already ended ; that the import 
of the word aionion must ever be taken from the nature 
of the subject with which it is connected ; and he will 
ask, what is there in punishment to create a necessity 
for its endless duration ? What glory does it give to 
God ? what benefit does it confer on man ? His as- 
surance of endless felicity to himself will not be dis- 
turbed, because the words everlasting and eternal do 
not necessarily imply an endless duration. From the 
nature of the subject (felicity) he would infer, that it 
will be endless. The character of God, who is the 
Father of mercies, and the God of the whole earth, 
would support this inference. He would rejoice, that 
even uninspired men, who did not acknowledge these 
truths, have expressed the substance of the truth in the 
answer given to the first question in the Assembly's 
Catechism, where it is said, " The chief end of man is 
to glorify God, and enjoy him forever." With what 
pleasure will he now turn to the sacred page, and read, 
(John iii. 17,) " God sent not his Son into the world 
to condemn the world, but that the world, through 
him, might be saved and (John xvii. 4) Jesus says, 
" I have finished the work which thou gavest me to 
do ;" and on the cross he says, (John xix. 80,) " It is 
finished/' 

If a doubt could yet remain, that doubt is done away 



MATTHEW XXV. 46. 



213 



by the gracious words of the Saviour, who says, (John 
xiv. 19,) " because I live, ye shall live also." He here 
perceives, that the life of his soul is the consequence of 
the life of Jesus, the life of Jesus being the cause ; and, 
as long as Jesus lives, he shall live also. Does he ask, 
how long shall that be ? Scripture gives the answer : 
(John v. 26 :) " As the Father hath life in himself, so 
hath he given to the Son to have life in himself." 

Let us for a moment longer dwell on this interesting 
subject. The self-existent God is from his own nature 
of endless duration : he is called Father ; for he is the 
author of being : he hath given to the Son (the mani- 
festation of himself) to have life in himself, as he, the 
Father, hath ; the life of the Son is therefore endless ; 
the Son makes his life the cause of ours : we therefore 
shall live as long as Jesus, and he as long as the Father. 
The result is, therefore, at once simple and glorious : our 
life shall continue in the endless duration of the self- 
existent God. 

One part of our subject only remains for consider- 
ation : the righteousness of those who are received 
into endless life, or, in the language of the text, into life 
eternal. 

The character of man as a fallen being is un- 
righteous ; this was the character of the antediluvian 
world; (Gen. vi. 5;) " God saw that the wickedness 
of man was great :" the postdiluvian world gives no 
better evidence of character. Paul says, (Rom. iii. 
9,) " we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, 
that they are all under sin." And, again, (Gal. iii. 10,) 
" Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things., 
which are written in the book of the law to do them," 



214 



MATTHEW XXV. 46. 



Here we observe that the law requires an unbroken 
continuity of obedience : the smallest offence constitutes 
a man a sinner : and when we look at the command, 
ment, which says, " Thou shalt not covet," we see that 
it takes cognizance of the thoughts of the heart. Who 
can stand before this law? Who can look into his owii 
heart, and then, looking up to the Searcher of hearts, 
who is judge of all the earth, say, I am guiltless ? If 
there is any, who, after all this, will say, I am righteous, 
let him know that Christ came not to call the righteous, 
but sinners to repentance : but let him also know, that, 
in thus rejecting the necessity of a Saviour, by his own 
rule he must stand or fall. Deluded soul, well is it for 
him that Christ died even for him ; for he tasted death 
for every man, and is the propitiation, not only for those 
who know they need a Saviour, but for the sins of the 
whole world. (1 John ii. 2.) 

What then is the righteousness to which the self- 
convicted sinner can trust ? We answer, the righteous- 
ness of Christ, who says, (John iv. 34,) " My meat is to 
do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work." 
His righteousness is perfect, and it is our rejoicing, 
that (1 Cor. i. 30) Christ is made unto us righteous- 
ness. 

We freely acknowledge that till a man has this faith, 
he can have no rational and Scriptural rest. (Heb. 
iv. 3.) " We, which have believed, do enter into 

rest." 

We lament the blindness of an unbelieving world, but 
we are comforted in the assurance that (Ps. xxii. 
27, 28) " All the ends of the world shall remember and 
turn unto the Lord ; and all the kindreds of the nations 



MATTHEW XXV. 46. 



215 



shall worship before thee. For the kingdom is the 
Lord's ; and he is the Governor among the nations." And 
again, (Ps. Ixxxvi. 9,) "All the nations whom thou hast 
made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord ; 
and shall glorify thy name." 

Perhaps some may now say : " we thought he be- 
lieved in the restoration of all intelligent creatures, yet 
we have heard no allusion to the final felicity of the 
fallen angelic nature." 

To such we would observe, that Christ sent his 
apostles to the world of mankind, and commanded, that 
to them the Gospel should be preached : but if we are 
urged to express an opinion upon the subject, we have 
no hesitation to say, that there is nothing in the cha- 
racter of God to justify the belief of the endless misery 
even of devils. What is a devil ? A fallen angel. 
What is a sinner ? A fallen man. Why should not the 
union of infinite love, wisdom, and power, which acting 
in God have found out the way by which he hath mani- 
fested himself as the just God, and yet the justifier of 
ungodly man, also find out a way by which he will 
restore the fallen angelic nature ? We may be asked, 
when and how ? To this we may say, we cannot tell, 
for we are not instructed ; but we will also say of the 
fallen angels, that they must be endlessly miserable, be 
annihilated, or restored : the first is abhorrent to the 
character of God : the second would derogate from his 
wisdom, represent him as unable to new make the 
vessel that was marred in the hand of its maker, and 
that therefore in the violence of his anger and disap- 
pointment he destroyed it : the last is then the only rea- 



216 



Matthew xxv. 4¥4 



sonable conclusion, they shall be new made or restored. 
And we are sure, that this text gives no reasonable as- 
surance of the endless misery even of devils : for the 
word eternal does not necessarily imply an endless 

duration* 



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